


Various Varigo Oneshots

by Glacecakes



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Varian and the Seven Kingdoms - Kaitlyn Ritter & Anna Lencioni, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Mild Gore, Varigo - Freeform, Various Oneshots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:27:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 26,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23800015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glacecakes/pseuds/Glacecakes
Summary: A bunch of oneshots featuring Varian and Hugo from Varian and the Seven KingdomsCurrent: An incident in town leads to Nuru and Yong taking care of some wild toddlers. Toddlers who are not exactly unfamiliar...
Relationships: Hugo/Varian (Disney: Varian and the Seven Kingdoms)
Comments: 139
Kudos: 462





	1. Three Criminals Square Off

**Author's Note:**

> This is just gonna be a bunch of oneshots, either I have a desire to write it or it's for a prompt bingo/zine/collab/etc. Basically, I have a bunch of prompts and I am in love with these boys.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hugo meets Varian's family. It goes... well. It goes.  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was part of a collab with the glorious Ten! Love ya so goddamn much  
> No warnings!

Somewhere, buried deep beneath the stubbornness and the layers of denial, Hugo was madly in love with his tiny alchemist. As much as Hugo liked to try and deny it, Varian had him wrapped around his finger since day one. 

This was the first time Hugo had ever felt this way about someone. He’d been in relationships before, but those were much more… physical. What he had with Varian was much sweeter, much more genuine. Even though they had only been together for a few months, Hugo knew he wanted to stay with Varian for a long time, if not forever. His affection went beyond just pure appearance. Varian’s dedication, compassion, and kindness warmed Hugo’s soul in a way he’d never experienced. 

Sure, he still got a big kick out of teasing Varian, but it was never as mean-spirited as before. And anytime Varian had smiled, he felt like melting into a pile of goo. It had weirded Hugo out at first, how soft he’d become. He was so used to being in control, and yet, anytime Varian showed any sign of affection, Hugo’s face lit up like a beacon. It was maddening and addictive.

Now, their unlikely family was headed to Varian’s home kingdom for the final trial. Hugo, Yong, and Nuru all knew how important family was to Varian. He’d been writing to them constantly, and this whole quest was started with the end goal of freeing his mom. Even though they were exhausted, the three of Varian’s companions had silently agreed to put up with it, and get him home as soon as possible. After Hugo had stood up to Donella, he’d actually made a conscious effort to help the others and act like a part of the team. 

How ironic was it that he had let go of what he thought was his family and embraced this new one in his home kingdom? Granted, that place wasn’t really his home, it never was. He thought his home had been with Donella. He’d tried to convince himself that she was family, that he was home with her for so long, to the point that when his new family opened their arms to him, he’d been in denial. He tried to push them away, but Varian was nothing if not stubborn. Hugo was eternally grateful that his boyfriend was a champion of second chances. 

He had no idea what he’d do if Varian’s family rejected him. 

He doubted they’d reject him as a person; he’d met Varian’s mom’s side, and they liked him fine. But these were the people Varian grew up with, and they were dating now. Varian made it clear they wouldn’t hate him. “Half of my family is made of ex-cons,” He’d told Hugo, absentmindedly scratching his cheek in embarrassment. “And I have a criminal record and a half. If they can forgive me, they’ll forgive you.”

He wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t forgive him though, not in the slightest. He worked with the woman who trapped Varian’s mom until _last month_. In fact, he still hasn’t told Varian about that (He probably should).

For now, they were nearing the bridge to the capital, and Varian was growing more excited with every step. His excitement was infectious; Hugo found himself grinning. 

“You look like you’re gonna explode,” he remarked. “I wouldn’t be shocked if you could.”

Varian rolled his eyes. “Oh come on, give me a break! I haven’t seen my dad in ages.”

“Neither have I.” Hugo turned to stare deadpan at him. 

Varian turned bright red. He knew Hugo was abandoned; he’d told him back when they were first getting along. “Oh my gosh, I-I totally forgot! I-um, you don’t have to meet him if you don’t want to?” 

Hugo’s face broke, and he laughed. “I’m teasing you, goggles. I can’t wait to meet him; there’s something I want to know.”

“Oh yea?”  
  
“Yea, I got a question for him.”

“What’s that?”

“If he forgot to feed you.”

Varian moved to shove him, but Hugo bent out of the way. His flexibility drove Varian up a wall; the shorter man had the grace of a baby duck. Sure enough, Varian let out an annoyed huff, tripping over himself, and gave chase.

“I’m serious! You’re so short! What if you’re malnourished?” Hugo laughed, running ahead. 

“I’ll kick your kneecaps!” Varian yelled.

“If your tiny legs can even catch me,” Hugo turned back to see Yong and Nuru following, grins on their own faces. Ruddiger was perched on top of Prometheus, who made no effort to speed up. 

[ ](https://let-me-make-you-proud.tumblr.com/post/620135152098721792/show-chapter-archive)

He slowed down just enough for Varian to catch up. He leaped at the taller boy, grabbing onto his waist. 

“Seriously,” Varian said, keeping him still so the others could rejoin them. “You ok with this? My family can be a lot.”

“I met Cass,” Hugo muttered. “She was fine.”

That much was true. Back when Hugo was still in denial about liking Varian, he’d expected to hate Cass. The way Varian talked her up; he’d only figured out he liked her when he bribed Yong to tell him so. Varian had kicked his ass for that. When he finally met her, though, she had introduced Varian to her new girlfriend, and Hugo had laughed for a solid minute. Leave it to Varian to crush on the biggest lesbian he’d ever seen. Varian kicked his ass when he said that, too.

“Yea, but my dad can be a bit… much, at first.” Varian sighed. “They all can be.” 

...All?

-

As they entered the capital, Varian led them down the bright path, and started pointing things out as he saw. 

“That’s the blacksmith’s. Xavier, the guy who runs it? He’s a great guy, a big fan of myths.” he said. It was nice, but the further into the capital they went, the more confused the other three became. They knew Varian grew up in the outskirts of Corona, but Varian had ushered them straight to the capital. Apparently he had moved there when he was 16. That was fine enough, but they had long passed the residential area. 

“Right. So, Varian,” Nuru placed a hand on his shoulder. “Where exactly are we going?”

“...To see my dad? Varian replied, uncertain, as if it was obvious. 

“Is your dad the king?” Hugo bit the bullet. “Because unless he’s homeless, that’s the only house left in this area.” 

“Hugo!” Nuru chided. “He’s… right though.”

“No, he’s not the king,” Varian agreed, leading them up the steps to the castle. “But when I became the royal engineer, it was just easier if I moved into the castle. And then when I left, dad was the only one who really knew how to upkeep the systems.” Ah, so that explained the whole moving situation. Wait... royal engineer? _Why does Varian always forget to tell us the most important stuff?_ The front gate was open, with two royal guards standing at the entrance. They brightened when they saw him. “Pete! Stan!” Varian grinned. “Is my dad around?” 

“Hi Varian!” One of the guards said. “He’s here, he’s with the Queen and her father in the throne room.” 

Varian looked very confused at that. “Huh. Well, thanks!” he motioned for the three to follow him into the castle.

“Didn’t know your dad was a kiss-ass,” Hugo muttered. “I thought you hated that guy?”

“King Frederrick?” Varian looked guilty. “Not as much as before, no. He and my dad are friends.”

“Right, but he ditched your dad, you told me that.”

“He… apologized?” Varian added sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck in discomfort. “He’s nicer, after the whole memory erasing stuff he’s gotten better.”

“Right, it took two counts of treason to get the stick out his ass,” Hugo nodded sagely. “Got it.”

Yong barked out a laugh at that. He at least tried to appear guilty. 

Varian smacked his arm. “Oh, stop it.” He led them to a large hallway and pushed the large doors open. “If my dad’s in there, it’s probably nothing serious, so we should be able to pull him out of it.”

Stepping out onto the dais, Hugo noticed a small crowd of people surrounding a petite woman. A tiara was perched haphazardly on her head, and she was barefoot. Three of the people were dressed fairly plainly, with two having enormous swords strapped to their backs. In the corner was a man Hugo faintly remembered being King Frederrick from old images. He seemed to be observing more than participating. 

Yong pulled on Nuru’s sleeve and whispered, “Isn’t that the queen of Corona?” Nuru nodded violently. Varian stepped forward, his shoes echoing enough to get the queen’s attention. Her face lit up so brightly, it could have been mistaken for the sun.

“Varian!” She gushed, running over and scooping the boy up into a hug. “Your dad said you were headed back, but I didn’t know it’d be today!”  
  
“Surprise?” Varian offered.

Rustling his hair good naturedly, letting him go, and stepping back to look at him, she grinned. “You’ve gotten taller!” Varian beamed at that. 

“It’s really good to see you,” he breathed. 

Hugo blinked in shock, looking at his companions for an explanation. Sure, Varian was the Royal Engineer (apparently), but why was the queen this… clingy? Wait, didn’t Varian mention an adoptive sister? Was this her? 

Realization slammed into him like a tidal wave.

 _This was Varian’s family_. 

Varian’s family wasn’t just his dad, and his dad’s family. It wasn’t just the Dark Kingdom, where, had Varian been raised, he’d likely have been nobility. No, Varian’s family was also the royal family of Corona.

Oh fuck. 

-

Nuru and Rapunzel had been quick to start a conversation together, both eager to talk about how their kingdoms could work together. Which left Hugo to trail Varian and meet his family.

What else was he going to do? Socialize with royalty? Grab a cupcake and stand there as his boyfriend reunited with the people he loved most? 

Well, he swiped a cupcake when a maid walked by (and maybe a flower for Varian’s hair but that was irrelevant), but he wasn’t going to do the other thing.

Besides, he had no choice. Varian had grabbed Hugo’s hand and marched him straight over the tallest and buffest man Hugo had ever seen. At his side, a man and a woman were grinning down at them. The woman exuded calm, but the short man seemed to be almost feral. The big man was dressed very plainly, despite being surrounded by knights and kings. 

“Dad!” Varian cried, letting go of Hugo to slam face first into the big man’s chest. He wrapped his arms around Varian, easily swallowing up the small man in a hug. His face remained mostly impassive, but a serene smile stretched across his face as he embraced his son for the first time in nearly 2 years. They were both totally oblivious to Hugo’s internal alarm blaring like a siren. This brick _shithouse_ was Varian’s dad? He had thought the grumpy guy was his dad, with the black hair and tiny ball of anger vibe. 

“Hi Aunt Adira, Uncle Hector,” Varian said, his voice muffled by his dad’s coat. Adira ruffled his hair, before the two walked off to introduce themselves to an eager Yong. 

Totally unaware of Hugo trying to comprehend how his boyfriend came from _that_ , Varian stepped back to grab Hugo. Even with his height over Varian, he was dwarfed standing next to this man. 

“Dad, this is Hugo. Hugo, this is Quirin, my dad.” Varian said, reaching down and gripping Hugo’s hand. 

“How!?” Hugo blurted out.

Quirin raised an eyebrow in confusion. Varian lit up bright red. 

Recognition flashed across Quirin’s face, and he laughed. “I take it my size confuses you?” He crossed his arms across his chest. His massive arms, the thickness of Varian’s waist. “Rest assured, he gets it all from his mother.”

“What do you mean, rest assured?” Varian grumbled.

“Did he get enough veggies as a kid?” Hugo asked, just in case. Varian bumped their hips together in mock annoyance. “I grew up on a farm, of course I did.”

“Yea, but you grew like, 2 inches since I first met you.”

“I did?” Varian blinked. “How do you know that?”

“Yes,” Quirin butted in. “How _do_ you know that?” 

Hugo couldn’t help but feel like his life was in terrible peril. “I’m… observant?” He tried, and prepared to run. The three were silent for a moment, before the shortest sighed.

“Actually, dad.” Varian said resolutely, and the man’s gaze dropped. “Hugo is… he’s my boyfriend.” The grip on Hugo’s hand tightened until his knuckles turned white. Quirin’s face softened as he regarded Hugo with the kindness he had only prayed for. Hugo extended an arm in greeting, and Quirin grasped it firmly. 

“It’s nice to meet you, sir,” Hugo was _so_ proud he said that without stuttering. Quirin snorted. 

“Please, just Quirin is fine. Thank you, for looking after my son on his travels.”

“Not a problem, he probably would have died without me,” Hugo replied almost absentmindedly. He was afraid that he insulted Quirin, but the bark of laughter suggested otherwise. 

Hugo smiled, despite his insides twisting. He desperately wanted to admit the truth, that no, he had been trying to double-cross Varian for so long, and he wanted nothing more than to take it back. But he hadn’t told Varian yet, and he felt like he should probably figure out if that was dealbreaker first.

“Varian!” A voice called, and Varian’s head snapped up like lightning. Rapunzel was approaching with a man in tow. He was dressed in red, white and gold, a sword at his hip, being clenched by white gloves. He wrapped one arm around Varian briefly, before stepping back. 

“Hi Eugene,” Varian said. Distantly, Hugo remembered him mentioning an adoptive brother. This must be him. But somehow, his casual grin and bright eyes seemed oddly familiar. 

Eugene glanced over at Hugo, and then did a double take. “Wait a minute. I know you! Hugo, right?” A feeling of uneasiness bubbled up to the surface; this could turn ugly fast. He trusted Varian when he said there wouldn’t be any problems, but he was ready regardless. 

“Wait, you know who I am?” 

“Uh yeah, does Flynn Rider ring a bell to you?” 

Hugo raised a finger to his chin in thought. “No?”

“No!?” The man pointed a finger at him in anger. Hugo glanced down at the finger. He was so tempted to bite it, but that was something he and Varian did. “Please get that out of my face,” He said instead. 

Eugene seemed to only get angrier. “You little weasel! You did a job with me! Flynn Rider! And you _double crossed me_!” 

“Nope, sorry, I think I’d remember a hack like you. If you had been halfway decent, you wouldn’t have had to resort to a palace job.” 

Someone coughed, clearly trying to hide a laugh. A quick glance showed it was Adira. Eugene clenched his fingers in the air, eye twitching. Rapunzel patted his shoulder, and he took a deep breath. 

“Ok, fine, you don’t remember me, that’s fine. But I remember you, and you were. Well, not the worst, but definitely up there.”

“How flattering,” Hugo remarked dryly. 

“And I didn’t _resort_ to this job, it was _given_ to me! What did you do to earn being here?”

“Know Varian?” 

Eugene paused, as if he just remembered the events that lead up to this comedy of errors. Finally, he resorted to glaring at the younger man. “Just know that I’m watching you,” he said, pointing two fngers in between their eyes. Hugo rolled his eyes. 

Varian laughed nervously, deciding that was enough socialization for one day. He placed his hands on Hugo’s back to lead him elsewhere. “Ok well Eugene, Rapunzel, dad, aunt and uncle, it was nice to see you again, but I think my _friends_ ,” he emphasized the word. “Would like to relax for a bit before the final trial, please and thank you.” he began to push Hugo out the room, motioning at Nuru and Yong to follow him. On the way out, Hugo managed to snag a few more trinkets, things he knew wouldn’t be missed. Old habits die hard, after all. 

“Your old room is still open!” Rapunzel called. “And the guest rooms on either side are too.” 

“We’ll only be needing 3 rooms,” Hugo called, or at least tried to call before Varian quickly shushed him. 

“Can you try _not_ to get killed?” he hissed, pushing them out as the doors closed behind them. Before they did, Hugo turned his head, and caught sight of Eugene’s two fingers pointing at him.

-

“So,” Hugo drawled as they stepped into Varian’s old room. Nuru and Yong were on either side of them, but he had wanted to see Varian’s room. “Any reason why you didn’t tell Mr. Suck up we’re dating?”

“Don’t call him that,” Varian chided, eyes sweeping over his old room with fondness. “He’s very overprotective, is all. After everything that happened when I was a teen, he kinda… adopted me as his baby brother. He’s just afraid you’ll hurt me.”

Hugo tried desperately to ignore the screaming in his mind that said the bastard was _right_ to be afraid. “He’s an ex-con too, though?” 

“Yea,” Varian sighed. “I think you remind him of himself at our age, and he… really regrets the stuff he did back then.” He turned around to wrap an arm around Hugo. The older man pulled the slightly damaged flower back out of his pocket, and gently tucked it behind Varian’s ear.

“I don’t regret most of the stuff I did.” Emphasis on _most_ , not everything. 

“Yea, and he can tell,” Varian grumbled. “Just, humor me? Don’t tell him.”

Hugo placed a hand on his chest. “I won’t, promise.” He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Varian’s lip. The younger deepened it, wrapping his hands into Hugo’s hair and massaging his scalp.

“ _What?!_ ” 

Hugo and Varian broke off abruptly to see Eugene standing at the door. The door they forgot to close. Varian stepped back like he’d been burnt, dusting his shirt off as if to rid himself of any evidence. It stung a little.  
  
“What are you doing here!?” Varian gasped, not meeting his family in the eyes.

“No, no, nononono,” Eugene said, ignoring the question entirely and stepping through the doorway. “I thought I told you not to date criminals!” 

“You said not until I was 18,” Varian deadpanned. Hugo barked out a laugh.

“Did you really? Oh no, precious child capable of terrorism, no dating handsome petty thieves, they’ll _corrupt_ you!” Hugo draped himself over Varian’s shoulder. Eugene’s face flashed with murderous intent. 

“Petty thieves steal from commoners, not the _castle_.” 

“It was a flower! I’m allowed to pick a flower!” Hugo raised his hands in exasperation. “Though honestly, whoever designed those floral pieces needed to work on their color balance.”

“Ok, that’s it! Out the castle! Thanks for coming, why did you come anyway?”

“To meet my boyfriend’s family? Though if I had known you were gonna be here, I’d have left already.” 

Varian sighed in annoyance, untangling himself from his boyfriend and tugging Hugo’s arm in an attempt to get him to turn away. Instead, Hugo got further into the man’s personal space. It had been a while since this petty side of him reared its ugly head. 

“Then leave! You’re not welcome here anymore!” Eugene snapped. Hugo gasped in mock hurt. “Is that any way to talk to your future brother-in-law?” He pressed his fingers to his chest in a dramatic display. 

“The only future you are is a future prisoner!”

“Enough!” Varian yelled, butting in and pushing them apart. “Hugo, come on! I thought you wanted to make a good impression!” 

“I did for your father, is that not enough for you?”

Varian’s eyes shone with fury. “No!” He said. He shook his head to snap out of it. “Eugene, you were a criminal. And so was I, he’s fine.” 

“He’s not fine!” Eugene snapped. “This little _jerk_ only cares about himself!”

“Oh come on!” Hugo bit back. “I was what, 13? Of course I only thought about myself! That’s what all teens do! You were the same, I bet!”

Eugene’s face hardened into steel at those words. “Maybe I was. But not Varian.” He spat. “I changed when I met Rapunzel. And something tells me you never did.” Hugo’s eyes widened at that, glancing over at Varian in shock. The room was deathly silent. Varian’s face was downcast, fists clenched at his sides. 

“Tell me I’m wrong,” Eugene glared, staring straight into Hugo’s soul. “Tell me to my face that you’re not hiding anything, and that you’d never hurt Varian.”

Hugo raised his chin at the challenge. “I’d never hurt him intentionally.”

“I know that trick, you’re bending my words! Come on, say it word for word.”

Hugo’s eyes narrowed, raring up to fight, despite the small part of his mind screaming for him to abort. He truly did not want to hurt Varian anymore, and he wasn’t sure how his boyfriend would react when he knew the truth.

 _Hugo wasn’t ready for it to end._

The older man was right. He _was_ hiding something. He didn’t want to, sure, but he still was, because otherwise he may lose the one family he still had. And Hugo was not about to let Varian go without a fight. 

Eugene’s eyes narrowed into slits. “I knew it.” He growled, reaching for his sword. 

“Hey, don’t fight over me!” Varian yelled, jabbing a finger into his brother’s chest. “People said the same things about you, and you changed! You used your past to help others! Why is _he_ any different?”

“Did you miss that entire conversation! He just admitted he was hiding something!”  
“He didn’t _admit_ anything!” Varian snapped. “Just because you see me as that scared little teen doesn’t mean I still am! I spent the last 2 _years_ proving that I’m an adult! I can make my own decisions! Have my own life! I _know_ what I’m doing!” He whipped around to his slightly awed boyfriend.

“And _you_ ,” he hissed as Hugo shrunk back. “Why on Earth are you antagonizing him? It’s like you _wanted_ this to go badly! Yes, you did some not-so-great things in the past. So did I! But you’re acting like you did when we first met! I thought you were getting past that! Was it all a lie?” 

Hugo averted his eyes. When was the last time he felt this...ashamed? Guilty? One of those two, but it was so unfamiliar. He’d only started experiencing this feeling after he changed his mind about betraying Varian, and now it was kicking in full force.

What would Hugo say? _Hey Varian, hey Varian’s family, I worked with the lady who sent your mom to god knows where! And I was sabotaging you the whole time! But don’t worry, I’m good now, because I’m in love with Varian!_

He took a deep breath. “Varian,” he began, “I-” 

“Save it,” the alchemist growled, pushing past them both. “I’m leaving.”

“Leaving!?” Eugene sputtered. “Where are you going?”

“It doesn’t matter!” Varian yelled, stomping down the corridor. The time spent with Varian on the road told Hugo that when Varian was mad, you best avoid him for at least an hour. He gripped Eugene’s shoulder to keep him from following. The man slapped the hand away, but made no effort to chase him. 

-

“So,” Rapunzel drawled. “You two got into a fight, again, Varian yelled at you, and now he’s missing. Anything I missed?” 

“Eugene’s being a hypocrite.”

“Hugo’s not convincing me I shouldn’t be.”

“Boys!” The two at least had the sense to look guilty. “Honestly, you two are so alike.” She placed a hand on her temple, pacing back and forth. “No one in the castle has seen Varian in the past hour. Quirin is headed to Old Corona in case he’s at their house. Any other ideas?”

“He can’t be far,” Hugo mused, closing his eyes. “Whenever he was mad, he’d never go more than a mile away. So if there was an emergency, we wouldn’t have to look for him. He’s usually in the first place you expect, too.” Hugo opened an eye to see Eugene and Rapunzel staring at him in shock. “What? I’ve known him for 2 years, I’m bound to notice this stuff!” 

“Sounds like you went after him enough times to know that.” Rapunzel said. Hugo looked down, crossing his arms. 

“I guess,” he mumbled. “I was usually the one to go after him. Best way to calm him down-”

“Is to make him laugh.” Eugene finished. The two men stared at each other in mutual shock. 

“There’s a clearing, about half a mile from the city bridge.” Eugene offered a small smile, a peace offering. “Varian went there to stargaze a lot.”

Hugo offered a smile back. “He always complains about city lights.” 

They shared a moment of eye contact, before Eugene broke with a sigh. “Look, I still don’t trust you,” Hugo rolled his eyes. “But I can tell you care for Varian.” he eyed the younger man warily. “So… I won’t stop you two from. You know. Being a thing. It’d be wrong.”

“Thanks.” Hugo sighed. “And I suppose I should apologize for egging you on?”

“That would be nice, yes. And for stealing.”

Hugo groaned. Of _course_ he noticed that. “I was just gonna give them to Varian,” he grumbled.

“The kid lives here! He was gonna know you took them!” 

“It’s the thought that counts!”

“ _Boys_!” Rapunzel barked. They cried in protest simultaneously. 

-

Varian had been pacing for nearly an hour now. The moon was high in the sky when he’d first arrived at the little clearing and its pond that reflected the stars, but Varian couldn’t sit still. He’d been ranting to the wind about his problem for the first half hour, but lapsed into silence to just think. Finally, his pacing slowed to a stop, and he plopped down onto the ground. Sitting criss cross, he stared at the sky’s reflection. He’s not sure how he expected today to go, but this sure wasn’t it. 

Out of anyone in his family to disapprove, why’d it have to be Eugene? He could handle his aunt and uncle distrusting Hugo, heck, he could take Rapunzel being mad! She wouldn’t have stayed mad, at least. But Eugene and his dad… they were the people whose opinion he really trusted. His dad for obvious reasons, but Eugene was like the big brother he’d always wanted. Yes, Rapunzel was like a sibling as well, but it wasn’t the same. This was Team Awesome. They rarely ever fought! The last serious fight they’d had… gosh, it might’ve been during the Eclipse two years ago. He let out a puff of air in disappointment, hair flopping with the motion. 

“Hey.”

Varian looked up in surprise to see his boyfriend standing by a nearby tree. “Nice hideout, mind if I join you?” He asked. 

“How’d you know I was here?” 

“A little birdie told me, name rhymes with Mugene.”

Varian snorted and patted the grass beside him. Hugo padded over, sitting with his legs crossed, looking at the surface of the water that Varian had been fascinated with the first time he came out here. 

“Why’d you do it?” Varian asked after a moment of silence. Hugo leaned back, staring up at the sky, thinking for a moment. Finally, he said, “I think I was scared.” Varian’s eyes widened.

“There are some things I’m… not ready to tell you.” He admitted. It felt like a weight was lifted off his chest just from those words. “But I want you to know that when I am ready, I’ll tell you right away. I don’t want to lose what we have, but you deserve to know.”

“Hey,” Varian laced their fingers together. “It’s ok. I didn’t tell you everything about myself when we first met, did I?” He snorted. “I think you remind Eugene of himself. He’s ashamed of what he did, the people he hurt. I guess he took it out on you.”

“Nah, I deserved it.” Varian bumped their shoulders together. 

“You kinda did.”

“What?! You’re supposed to disagree with me! Say I’m perfect!” Hugo’s face betrayed his tone of voice. Both of them were grinning. 

“You’re not perfect,” Varian breathed, moving their lips closer together. “But I love you anyways.”

“I love you too,” Hugo said, and their mouths slotted together.

From behind the treeline, Eugene smiled. He could get used to the guy. 


	2. Wisdom Teeth Really Hold Your Braincells

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hugo gets his wisdom teeth out and lets a few secrets slip. Modern day AU.  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for a tiny bit of blood and medical talk, but it's otherwise pure fluff.  
> This is the stupidest, cutest thing I have ever written and I LOVE it. DORKS DORKS DORKS

“Ok, the doctor’s all finished.”

Varian looked up from his phone to see the nurse smiling kindly. Her scrubs were slightly rumpled as she gestured for Varian to follow her back to the operating room. 

“It went off without a hitch, and since his insurance covers wisdom tooth removal, you’re free to leave.” She opened the door, but turned to face him before she opened it fully. “Just so you know, he’s on laughing gas, so he’s… acting a little funky.” 

Varian laughed sheepishly. “Yea, I figured. Did he give you any trouble?” It was hell just to get his boyfriend here. Hugo had been fortunate(?) enough to not need his wisdom teeth out as a teen, but as an adult Hugo had to admit they were troubling him. He’d tried to hide it at first, brushing off Varian’s concerns, but eventually he’d been in pain at all hours of the day, and that was enough for Varian to schedule the surgery despite his boyfriend’s protests. 

The man refused to admit when he needed help, damn him. 

“Not at all,” The nurse responded. “One of the best behaved patients we had in awhile.” She looked like she was trying not to laugh. Varian stepped into the room to see the dentist cleaning up, and sitting in the chair was a very sad Hugo. 

“Hugo?” He called, and Hugo looked up at him like a kicked puppy. Varian could count on one hand the amount of times he’d seen his boyfriend cry, so this was a concerning development. “Babe, are you ok? What hurts?” He rushed over to his side. Hugo sniffed miserably.

“I miss Varian,” he mumbled through the gauze. “I miss hiiiiiiim!” He moaned, sliding down in the chair. The dentist stifled a laugh. 

Varian blinked a few times. He… missed him? “Hugh, I’m right here,” He laughed nervously, though slightly flattered. Hugo frowned, turning to Varian as if he didn’t recognize him. Then, his face lit up like a Christmas tree. 

“Babe!” He attempted to stand, but the way he slid down the chair made it difficult. He nearly toppled to the floor before Varian helped him stand up. “You’re here! You’re really here!” He cheered, wrapping himself around Varian with an air-tight grip.

“Of course I am. I drove you here.”

“You did? You’re so thoughtful!” 

Varian looked pleadingly at the nurse, who was clearly amused. “Was he like this the whole time?” He asked numbly.

The nurse grinned. “Nah, he wasn’t sad until the very end. Anytime we stopped working he was talking about you, though. You must be very lucky.” Varian’s cheeks flushed red as Hugo attempted to kiss his cheek, only to be stopped by the fact that his mouth was numb. 

“I’m the lucky one,” Hugo mumbled, opting to bury his face into Varian’s neck instead. The shorter man couldn’t help but feel slightly overwhelmed. Hugo never acted like this normally; sure, he’d flirt and compliment Varian to high heavens, but he was never the type for mushy-gushy over-the-top proclamations of love. It just wasn’t their thing. So to see Hugo clingy and docile as a lamb all while spouting his undying love for his boyfriend, it was a little jarring. All Varian could think to do was shush him as they exited the dentist’s with instructions for the next few days. 

-

“Varian, can we get McDonalds?” Hugo asked as soon as they got in the car. That was another thing. He kept calling Varian by his full name. No Var, or hummingbird, or Hairstripe, or any of the other dozens of nicknames he liked to give him. And the way he said it was like addressing royalty, with a fond reverence in every syllable. Hugo fumbled slightly with his seat belt, but otherwise was ok. He wiggled slightly as he spoke. 

“Sorry babe, no solid foods for a bit. Doctor’s orders.” 

“Fuck doctors! What do they know?”

“A lot.” Varian grumbled as he turned out of the office. He sighed. “If you won’t listen to the doctors will you listen to me?” He glanced over to see Hugo staring at him. 

“I’d die for you.”

“That’s slightly concerning.”

“I mean it,” Hugo leaned over to rest his head on Varian’s shoulder. Varian shrugged him off, since it wasn’t safe. “I would betray my mom for you!”

“Ok,  _ random _ . Where did you get that from?”

“That book series you like. Flynn’s partner betrays his mom to help him enter the Eternal Library in book 7.”

Varian looked over in shock, nearly missing the green light. “You read those?”

“They make you so happy, I read them when you go to sleep so I can follow you when you talk.” Hugo responded dutifully. That was new. Hugo usually made fun of him for liking a kid’s book, yet he still took the time to learn about it for Varian. A warm feeling fluttered around in his stomach. God damn did he love that guy. 

Eyes misting up slightly, he turned back to the road. “What other things are you keeping from me?” He asked, mostly joking. 

Hugo frowned, thinking for a moment. He prodded his chin in thought, ignoring Varian’s remarks to not aggravate his injuries. His face lit up as the car entered their apartment complex’s parking lot. “Oh yeah! I bought a ring last week!” 

Varian nearly swerved into a post. He parked at record speed, and it was probably the worst parking job he’d ever done. But that didn’t matter. He shut off the car before looking over at Hugo in absolute shock, eyes bugging out of his head.

Hugo looked serene, eyes full of warmth as he stared right back. The scene would’ve been hilarious, his lovestruck expression coupled with his cheeks puffed up from bloody gauze. But Varian didn’t care about that. He cared about what Hugo had just said. 

“When. When you say ring,” Varian struggled to find the words. “Do you mean, ring for… for  _ me _ … or, like a gift?”

Hugo held up a finger in a  _ wait _ gesture, digging into his pocket. With a little “tada”, he produced a small box for Varian to take. He did, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s a gift!” Hugo lit up, grinning a bloody grin at his boyfriend. Varian let out a sigh of relief.

“For you.” He opened the box to reveal a gold ring embedded with a small emerald, cut into the shape of a square, not unlike a diamond. 

Varian slumped over, hitting the steering wheel. Of course. Of fucking  _ course _ . Hugo remained oblivious to Varian’s panic, now trying to fight his way out of the seatbelt. 

Hugo was going to propose to him. 

_ Hugo was going to propose to him _ .

It shouldn’t surprise Varian, in all honesty. They’d been living together for… gosh, 2 years now? And they’d been dating at least another year. It wasn’t like this was too out of the blue, they’d talked about it before. Hugo had admitted he didn’t want to get married when he was younger. He’d been tossed around a lot as a kid, he’d said. Lost a lot of faith in government institutions. Varian didn’t blame him; he’d had a similar phase when his dad was hospitalized. He had promised Hugo that they’d go at their own pace, and if they never got officially married, it didn’t bother him. They had each other, and that was what mattered. 

Not that Varian didn’t want it! Quite the opposite. He just… never thought it would happen. He always figured that if they did get married, it’d be a spur of the moment elopement. Or that Varian would propose when Hugo said he was ready. 

But Hugo was ready, and he wanted it badly enough that he was going to propose… Varian let out a hysterical laugh. 

“Varian…” Hugo whined, still fighting the seatbelt.

Varian let out a wet laugh, wiping away the tears that were pooling in his eyes. “Yeah, I got you,” He said. 

-

Hugo felt like death. 

He groaned miserably, rolling over on the couch, hoping to see Varian beside him in the other chair. Alas, that was not the case. The sun was high in the sky, meaning either he was hungover and slept in a ridiculous amount, or he’d laid down for a nap and lost all sense of self.

It was probably the latter. His teeth throbbed in pain.

Right, dentist. 

“Babe?” Varian called from somewhere in the house. “Are you awake?”

“Barely,” Hugo grumbled, wiping his eyes and reaching for his glasses on the counter. His world came into focus as Varian rounded the corner and into Hugo’s field of view. “Gah. Why did I let you talk me into this?”

“Because the pain is gonna start to go away,” Varian responded, sitting down on the couch beside him. He held up a glass of water and painkillers for Hugo to take. “There’s ice cream in the fridge if you want it.” 

Hugo sighed in thanks, reaching over to take the items. As he took the glass of water, he noticed something gleaming on Varian’s outstretched hand. Something very familiar. He nearly dropped the glass in shock.

Reaching out with his other hand, he flipped over Varian’s to see his ring staring back at him. Mind racing, his horrified eyes met Varian’s sheepish ones. 

Oh shit. 

Hugo dropped the glass onto the table, before groaning and burying his head in his hands. “ _ Please  _ tell me I didn’t propose while high on pain meds.” God, just kill him now. 

“You didn’t propose, you just… gave me the ring,” Varian responded, patting Hugo’s back in sympathy. 

“That’s even worse!” 

“I can give it back?”

“What, no! You put it on, no take backs!”

“You didn’t even ask!” Varian was trying not to laugh now. Hugo looked up from his hands to see his eyes shining. Well, might as well make this incredibly corny. He got up from the couch, rounding the side to face Varian, and dramatically dropped to one knee. He nearly fell over, but managed to maintain his balance.

Hugo cleared his throat. “Sir Varian, son of Quirin-”

“I have a last name.”

“Fine. Sir Varian Ruddiger, son of Quirin,”

“And Ulla!” 

“Let me finish!” 

Varian was openly laughing now, and it was infectious. The two giggled, Hugo clutching his boyfriend for support. 

“Would you,” he straightened back up. “Give me the  _ honor _ , the  _ glory _ , the  _ privilege _ , of contributing to a corrupt industry and bankrupting ourselves to prove that we love each other?”

“How romantic,” Varian deadpanned, face giving away his true feelings. “But yes, I will marry you.”

Hugo couldn’t help it; he was too excited. He grabbed Varian, sweeping him up into an embrace. He buried his face into Varian’s hair, breathing in his scent. He’d get to do this for the rest of his life! Letting go, he lowered his head to kiss Varian…

Only for Varian to stop him with a hand.

“I love you, but I’m not kissing you, Mr. Blood Mouth.”

“Wait shit, am I still bleeding?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next one is probably gonna be as long as the first chapter, so it'll take a while. It's an oofins.


	3. The Enemy of my Mom is my Boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the two people Hugo cares for most come face to face, Hugo decides where his loyalties stand. Alternate title: Varian Gets Hurt Physically but Hugo Gets Hurt Emotionally  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some gore and torture in this one, be warned. Partially inspired by art from the fabulous Dr-Chalk, happy birthday!  
> I just got writing fever and went HAM on this one fbdsbdfs. It was a LOT of fun to write! Not so fun for everyone else. I got a Bad Things Happen Bingo card and you bet I'm using it here lmao  
> A big shoutout to jjgg_art and Dr_Chalk on insta for the art for this chapter :D Chalk's art has some heavy violence in it, so it is linked instead of directly posted!

God, Varian’s head hurt. Why was he on the ground? What was going on? 

_Ok Varian, think._ He thought to himself, shakily rising to his hands and knees. _What’s the last thing you remember?_

Let’s see… He and the others took shelter in a cave for the night. They weren’t very far from a nearby town, but with the sun setting too low for comfort, they figured it’d be best to wait until morning to head into town. The four settled around the campfire, Yong making up stories as he tinkered with his fireworks. Varian had warned him not to sit too close, afraid the fireworks would go off and destroy their little campsite, but Yong reassured them it was safe. Normally, Varian would have pushed more for safety, given their past experiences with explosives, but he had been curled up against Hugo’s chest. Both teens were wrapped up in a blanket, with Hugo secretly planting kisses along his neck, and he didn’t want to move. Instead he let Nuru deal with it and buried his head into Hugo’s chest. 

What they had was new and precious to Varian. They tried to keep it secret at first, worried it’d disrupt their little friend circle. Turns out they were terrible at being subtle. Nuru could tell they were together by the way they’d acted, from their soft touches to fleeting glances. And apparently Yong was snooping when they’d first gotten together. 

And he had proceeded to snitch on them immediately. So that didn’t help. 

As much as Hugo complained about how the drama was now gone (and complained when Varian laughed), it was nice to be this out and open. To be able to whisper endearments to each other late at night, to get their own room at inns, to not have to sneak behind the other’s backs. They could just be themselves; it was that sense of belonging Varian craved all those years ago.

The three drifted off to Yong’s over-the-top ghost stories, Yong keeping the fire going; he’d scared himself with his own ghost stories and offered to take watch. 

And then they’d woken up to Donella’s men sneering down at them.

Varian remembers jolting awake with a start, grabbing for his staff, which was no longer there. One of her goons had already grabbed onto it, holding it to his chin in warning, and he’d frozen in place. Hugo, Nuru, and Yong were all being held by some of her men, and Varian saw red. All of them had their hands pinned behind their backs, held in place with strong grips. Donella smiled condescendingly at them all. 

“Hello, children,” She’d said. “What are you all doing out here by yourselves? Surely you need an adult to accompany you.”

“I’m 19!” Varian protested. The man holding his staff jutted it further into his neck, and Varian hissed in pain. He levelled a glare up at Donella, a sign that he was unafraid of her. She tsked, stepping over Varian and approaching the other three. While Yong and Nuru turned their attention to Donella and showed as much resistance as they could, Hugo’s gaze was trained solely on Varian, a silent plea for him to get up and fight back. 

He’d never seen Hugo this… afraid? Remorseful? He wasn’t sure what emotion that was, but it wasn’t good. 

She motioned for her men to search the camp, and they’d fanned out. It was at this time Varian was grateful that Hugo never lost his thief instincts; he’d hid the totems in a small crevice last night. 

It was like he had a 6th sense about this kind of stuff. 

Less men around him gave him a bigger chance of getting the upper hand. Moving fast, Varian kicked the legs of the man threatening him, and he’d crumbled. Grabbing his staff, he ran for the men holding his friends, only to be tackled by another goon at the waist. Varian watched the resigned look on Hugo’s face morph into shock, and then of terror. He heard Hugo’s yell of concern, face scrunched up in anguish. And then he’d gone down head first, hitting the ground with a loud _crack_.

That explained his head, at least. 

It was enough for the others to spring into action. Hugo jammed his head back, skull colliding with the man holding him, and he’d let go in pain. The man staggered back clutching his nose, and a kick to the stomach sent him sprawling. Nuru slammed her foot on the man holding her. He howled, jumping back. Hugo ran over and slammed his fist into the final goon, freeing Yong. Though they were unarmed, Nuru and Yong eagerly jumped into battle, their small stature allowing them to easily evade and trip the burly men. Donella growled. She needed those totems, and if they were all free, she was running out of time. In frustration, she turned on her heel to face off against Varian herself. 

The young alchemist pushed himself up to his knees, and Hugo reached out to help him the rest of the way. Varian’s mind swirled with ideas, trying his best to compute the outcomes in such a short time. The crevice hiding the totems was on the other side of the cave, closer to Yong and Nuru. It seemed he had no choice. “Leave me, go join Yong and Nuru,” Varian ordered, eyeing the small bag sitting next to him. Yong’s bag. There was nothing of use to Donella, and so it was ignored. Hugo followed his line of eyesight and gaped.

“Absolutely not, I’m not leaving you alone!” He hissed under his breath, turning back to see Donella and the last of her men approaching the two of them. 

Varian grit his teeth and clenched his fists. “We don’t have a choice, this is the only way to keep the totems safe-!” his words were cut off when Hugo grabbed his shoulders, eyes full of fire. “I know. But I’m not leaving you.” 

Varian couldn’t stop the small smile that wormed onto his lips, and Hugo gave a half-smile back. 

He snatched the bag, handing Hugo as many fireworks as he could grab with one hand and took the lighter in his other hand. Dropping the bag, he made eye contact with Nuru. She reached an arm out, a silent plea, before dropping it in resignation. She grasped Yong’s hand, squeezing it, and nodded at Varian. It was as much a signal as they were going to get. 

In one swift motion, Hugo stabbed the fireworks into the dirt. Varian handed him the lighter, and Hugo snapped it open. Donella froze. Her eyes followed the angle of the rocket, she knew what was coming next. She glared at Hugo, her eyes almost challenging. 

Hugo lit the rocket. It spiralled into the ceiling, exploding only a few rocks. But it was enough to send larger ones tumbling, disrupting the careful patchwork of the cave. The rocks came down, down down, sending dust into his eyes and nose-

A heel pushed his dust-covered face back into the dirt. 

Right. Back to the present. 

Trapped in a cave with Donella. 

“You little _brat_ ,” She hissed, pressing down slightly harder. “You’re just as annoying as your mother.”

“Good to hear.”

He got a kick in the head for that. Stars danced across his vision, hearing flickering in and out. He could’ve sworn he heard someone screaming…

Hugo!

Varian’s eyes shot open, raising his head to see Hugo trapped in between two of Donella’s men. One arm was held by each, Hugo’s legs flailing violently. His mouth was open and moving rapidly, probably yelling. But he couldn’t make out what Hugo was saying. He was too far to read Hugo’s lips, and his hearing was going in and out.

“Let----go! I'm no--helping--------more!” Was all Varian could decipher. His hearing faded and vision swam, all he could hear was his own gasps for breath. Let… go? Was Donella hurting him? Over Varian’s dead body!

“Stop,” He croaked, coughing as specks of dust entered his lungs. The rockslide must have dredged up some. “Leave Hugo alone.” His eyes trailed up the leg keeping him pinned. “Take it out on me instead.” As he spoke, Hugo’s eyes widened and his thrashing picked up in intensity. “Don’t hurt him, please.” He begged, taking Hugo’s struggles as pain. 

Unbeknownst to him, Hugo wasn’t trying to stop any physical pain. His heart was breaking as Varian suffered under Donella. He _knew_ this attack was coming, he’d planned to stop Donella himself, stand up and tell her no. He didn’t want to betray Varian anymore, he didn’t want to keep playing a game where everyone lost. He kept telling himself today was the day he’d leave Donella, today was the day he’d tell Varian the truth, but every day. Every damn day. He’d see Varian’s bright smile, his cheeks flushed with joy, laughing at him or Yong or Nuru, and he’d freeze up. Varian told him of his own past, the struggles he’d experienced in Corona. It was enough trauma for one lifetime. Frequent nightmares, a fear of heights, panic attacks at even the chance of snow, if Hugo had it his way Varian would never shed another tear. And so he put off telling Varian. He put off confronting Donella. 

Just one more day, he told himself.

And look where that got him. He could’ve warned the others about Donella’s plans, but instead he’d hidden the totems and pretended everything was fine, snuggling up to Varian all night. And now Varian was paying the price. 

He was being held down by a man Hugo had never seen before, likely a newcomer, and Cyrus. Of course Cyrus couldn’t have been on the other side. The burly man was definitely fonder of him than other members of Donella’s crew, almost like the father he never had, but Hugo knew from experience there was no escaping his grip unless Cyrus _let_ him. 

Shit. 

Donella blinked down at Varian. “...Don’t hurt him, huh?” A grin wormed its way onto her face, and her sharp eyes glanced over at Hugo. Fear washed over him like an icy cold shock. “That can be arranged.” She stepped off of Varian, only to pick him up by the shirt collar. His eyes were glazed over in pain, yet there was no fear as he stared up at her. So much like his mother. 

It made her sick. 

She moved to throw him, only for Hugo to let out a cry that could only be described as feral or unhinged. It was tinged with a pain she’d never heard from him: emotional pain. 

“Don’t tell me you’ve gotten attached to him?” Donella called, eyes never leaving Varian’s. “Of all the ones to get attached to, why _him_? You don’t fall for the ones you’re supposed to betray!” She smacked Varian with her free hand, and the boy’s head whipped sideways in response. He didn’t even whimper, instead murmuring to himself. “Betray…?” He whispered. Hugo was doing all the screaming for the two of them. 

“Where are the totems?” She snapped.

Varian said nothing. His eyes were wide, pupils pinpricks. Shock.

Annoyed, she reached for the dagger on her belt, fully prepared to maim the boy if he didn’t start talking. 

“STOP!” Hugo cried, desperately kicking Cyrus’s shins, eyes pleading for the man to do _something_. Varian startled at his words, glancing back at the one he loved.

“Hugo dear, you know what I want. Why are you playing this out?” Donella sighed, dropping Varian back onto the ground with an unceremonious _thud_. The boy didn’t get up, merely stared at Hugo in confusion. Oh well. If he wasn’t going to talk, she knew who would. “Just tell me where the totems are, and we’ll be on our way. You can have your little boyfriend back! We’ll pretend this never happened.”

“I don’t have them!” Hugo’s voice shook. “And even if I did, he worked so hard for those, _we_ worked so hard for those. I’m not going to let you destroy all his hard work!” The two men now had to pin Hugo to the ground, he was thrashing so much. “I won’t hand them over! Not now, not ever!” He cried, a sense of finality washing over him. At Donella’s feet, Varian smiled. He’d been so scared in that moment, when Donella mentioned betrayal and Hugo in the same sentence. But it seemed he had nothing to worry about. 

Donella’s eyes narrowed into slits. She’s not sure why she expected anything less. Hugo had a habit of betrayal, sure, but he was smart. Surely, he’d come around and see her perspective. 

Maybe he just needed a reminder. 

“Not ever?” She hummed, unsheathing her dagger. “Not even if I…” With a flash, she thrust the dagger into Varian’s arm and _dragged_ it down, from the end of his elbow to halfway to his wrist. The younger boy’s eyes flew open and he _screeched_ in agony. Hugo cried out in protest, tears that had been building for weeks finally flowing. 

Feebly, Varian reached out to Hugo, hand trembling violently. Tears of pain dripped onto the floor. 

Scoffing, Donella slammed her foot into Varian’s hand, pinning it down and likely breaking a bone or two. None of that lovey-dovey-reaching-out-to-your-lover bullshit on her watch. His eyes rolled up into his head, and his arm flopped to the floor. That boy really was Ulla’s son; full of denial and misplaced hope. She chanced a glance up at her pseudo-son. He may be upset about his little toy, sure, but it’s not like she hadn’t done this to people before. 

[Hugo was reaching out as well. ](https://i.imgur.com/6rOPgvH.png)

Donella blinked in shock. He’d managed to slip out of Cyrus’s grip just enough that he was free up to his hips, with the two men now holding his legs in place. He was crying harder than she’d ever seen, snot running down his nose and his glasses foggy.

Mutely, she stepped off Varian’s hand. She couldn’t erase the image from her mind; the boy she’d raised since he was a toddler, breaking down even harder than that night she first took him in.

(He’d been a mess that night, convinced he was all alone in the whole world, that no one would ever love him, and even if they did, they’d leave him one day.) 

Her silence was the last push Hugo needed, slipping out from under Cyrus and the other man (she suspected Cyrus wasn’t holding on very hard). He pushed himself onto his feet, nearly tripping in his haste to get over to Varian. Scooping the smaller into his arms, Hugo curled himself around Varian like a protective shield. Their foreheads were pressed together. 

The last time she saw that pose… Ulla was cradling her infant in her arms, pressing their foreheads together in goodbye. 

This was… this was for real then? Hugo was actually betraying her? 

The rocks overhead shook. The other two were probably trying to get back in. Sure enough, the side of the cavern exploded in a flurry of rocks and shrapnel, revealing a soot-covered child and princess. Both of them looked furious, fully prepared for war, only to stop dead at the scene.

What a sight they must be. Donella frozen in time, Hugo cradling his boyfriend like a precious artifact. 

The two newcomers were holding the totems, too. Damnit. They were out of time.

Donella snapped at her two men, a silent call to retreat. They weren’t getting the totems anytime soon, not when Hugo wasn’t on their side anymore. She shuffled past the two children who hurried over to her ex-pupil and his boyfriend.

“Oh my god is he ok?”

“Varian? Can you hear me?”

She huffed, marching out of the cave. It didn't matter. She knew the location of the library. 

She’d just have to wait a little longer. 

-

The trip to the nearby town was silent. 

It had taken all three to get Varian onto Prometheus. Since Varian was easily the strongest one, they needed to work together without him. He was flopped over the saddle, still dead to the world. The blood on his arm slowly dripped down his fingers and onto the ground. Thankfully, the town had an infirmary, and one look at the dusty, scared kids was all the doctor needed to take Varian in and patch him up. 

“His arm is not as bad as it looks,” The doctor had reassured them. “He just needed some stitches and a cast on that hand. His head is the big concern. We won’t know the full damage until he wakes up, but I doubt it’ll be anything serious. You said a tree fell on him?”

Nuru coughed.

Hugo rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Not a big tree… just. It was going very fast?” He was a little too panicked to lie convincingly at the moment. 

The doctor raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. 

For now, it was just a waiting game until he woke up. Hugo had told them the general gist of it, that Donella had hurt Varian to get information, conveniently leaving out the whole “I was gonna betray you but I changed my mind” part. 

“I can’t believe she did that,” Nuru sighed, brushing a lock of hair back. “We knew she was dangerous, but this?” 

“If I ever see her again, I’ll set her tush on fire!” Yong cried. 

Hugo’s gaze fell to the floor. “You guys….”

They looked at him expectantly. 

“...Go get yourself checked out.” He could only deal with one of them hating him at a time, and that one was still asleep. “Make sure you didn’t break something in the rockslide.” It was a bullshit excuse, but they knew what he really wanted: time alone. With a comforting pat on the back from Nuru and a squeeze of the hand from Yong, the two exited the room. 

He hunched over, utterly overwhelmed. What the _hell_ was he going to tell Varian when he woke up? How do you explain to your boyfriend that you were going to betray him but changed your mind? Varian was the forgiving type, right? 

Oh who was he kidding, Hugo was so fucked. The one good thing he’d ever had, worth more to him than any of the valuables he’d stolen, and he blew it. He couldn’t stop the few tears that dribbled down his cheek, moving to brush them away.

[“Hey.”](https://www.instagram.com/p/CAEXJ_BFM-b/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet)

He froze, hand stuck in midair. Glancing down, Varian was exhausted, fractured beyond belief, but he was smiling. Smiling at _him_ with the same love as before. As if nothing had changed. A few more tears escaped without Hugo noticing, and Varian’s smile faltered ever so slightly. He waved. 

“Well… you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” He offered, trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t work, but Hugo let out a pity laugh anyway. What a dork.

 _His dork_. 

“Hey goggles,” Hugo murmured, ignoring his tears and moving his hand to grasp Varian’s instead. “Welcome back to the living.” 

“Glad to be here. With you.” Varian responded, squeezing ever so slightly.

[ ](https://www.instagram.com/jjgg_art/?hl=en)

[ ](https://www.instagram.com/jjgg_art/?hl=en)

“Even after everything?” 

“What do you mean?”

“I… I was going to betray you! I worked for the woman who… who hurt you. So badly.” He whispered the last part, memories still too fresh. 

“But you didn’t?” Varian tilted his head. He winced, immediately regretting the movement. 

“I was going to.”

“And I was going to kill the queen of Corona. People change, Hugo, I know that better than anyone.” Hugo blinked, processing those words. He was being forgiven… that easily? He felt overwhelmed, but for a whole other reason. Not out of fear, or anger, or self loathing, just pure, unadulterated love. His breath hitched, and he clasped Varian’s hand for dear life. Varian simply hummed, stroking the blonde hair. 

Hugo had a lot to make up for, a lot to explain. Luckily, his boyfriend was more than willing to let him.

[ ](https://www.instagram.com/jjgg_art/?hl=en)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes i edited this to be exactly 10k what of it


	4. In which Hugo Nearly Fights a Toddler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hugo's main rival for Varian's love isn't a suitor. It's a child. A slightly bratty royal child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings! Partially inspired by littlemisslol's Dating Game, which if you haven't read WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE GO READ IT NOW. Also check last chapter, the lovely Jigg and Dr_Chalk provided some awesome art! This one is on the shorter side but that's because I have another short one coming out on Friday, and I was writing both at the same time. After that the next one will be longer :)

Hugo didn’t hate  _ all  _ children, it’s just… he hated the one that he knew. 

Varian insisted he was being ridiculous, but what did he know? He was her  _ uncle, _ it was his job to like the little brat. And she certainly didn’t help, with her clinging and yelling and crying, and how Andrea stole the last crepe at breakfast the other day when he  _ clearly called dibs!  _

The hatred was mutual, too. Anytime Hugo and Varian were together, Andrea would grab onto Varian and drag him away from Hugo. And everytime, without fail, she’d turn and stick her tongue out at him! He always stuck his out in return, of course, because what the hell else can he do? Fight a literal toddler for his boyfriend’s hand?

With Andrea’s 5th birthday came a slew of the festivities Corona was famous for. Dancing, singing, music, the whole shebang. Hugo would’ve been glad to spend it like all the rest: holed up the Library, only coming out to steal Varian from his royal duties and drag him back to their room and not leave until late the next morning, when he would smugly announce Varian wasn’t feeling well and wouldn’t be attending the day’s ceremonies. And he usually scheduled that day to be the final festival day, when the closing ball happens. 

Unfortunately, since this was Andrea’s birthday, he was stuck fulfilling the whims of the brat princess, and all she wanted for her birthday was for her  _ Best Uncle Varian to attend a ball for once and dance with her. _

Which meant no sneaking away from the festivities, no stealing his boyfriend, no fooling around and weaseling their way out of royal duties.

The worst part was that Varian was willing to do it! It’d be one thing if they got to share in their hatred of nobility and all the stifling activities it entailed, but Varian was more than happy to agree for Andrea’s sake. He was weak to her puppy eyes.

“Seriously?” Hugo had complained to her. “We could make you like almost anything.”

“No!” Andrea had stomped her little mary-jane clad foot, the perfect image of a spoiled princess. “You always hog him!” She’d whined. 

“He’s my boyfriend, that’s my job.”

“Well you’re fired!”

Varian had laughed himself to tears when Hugo told him that. 

Here’s hoping any kids they had wouldn’t be as spoiled…

Hugo had mentioned that off-handedly once, and once they all got over the shock of  _ Oh my God Hugo wants to marry Varian and have kids, _ Varian had been quick to argue otherwise.

“Babe, you will literally drop whatever you’re holding to hug me. Like, let it crash onto the floor,” He’d laughed. “There is  _ no way _ you won’t spoil our kid silly. You’re just jealous of Andy.”

“I am NOT!”

And it’s true! He was definitely  _ not _ jealous of a child. Not jealous of how Varian was willing to ditch Hugo for her, or how he let Andrea help him with their lab experiments even if she often ruined them, or how he’d gladly make toys for her but when Hugo asks for something it’s always “Hugo, we’re not building a death ray security system, that’s a terrible idea.” or “No, I’m not getting you a bow and arrow from the market, you’re just gonna try and hunt Eugene down.” Not that Varian doesn’t get him stuff, quite the opposite. It’s just not the stuff that he  _ needs.  _

(He doesn’t actually need it, he just likes being dramatic for dramatic’s sake. That and it makes Varian laugh.)

Anyway. The point is Hugo is being forced to go to a birthday party ball and he hates it. 

Well, that’s not entirely true. Varian looks breathtaking with his hair slicked back and teal work outfit swapped for a more formal beige suit. Hugo was pretty satisfied with his own attire too, choosing just a simple white dress shirt and black pants. He wasn’t the center of attention tonight, and he’d like to keep it that way. If he had to play nice with a bunch of stuffy nobles and diplomats he might actually explode. 

Thankfully, he was allowed to play the part of Varian’s arm accessory, a part he adored and took very seriously. Could you blame him? Varian was a hell of a catch, with his enchanting baby blue eyes and adorable freckled face, and his hands were so soft and sleek despite his day job. He wasn’t the only one who noticed Varian’s good looks, clearly. 

One noble, whose name Hugo didn’t care nor want to learn, had been eyeing Varian whenever he passed by, and he passed by often. The guy didn’t even try to hide his glances, looking Varian up and down hungrily. Every time he walked by, Hugo couldn’t help but squeeze his arm around Varian a little tighter, and Varian would simply hum and rest his head on Hugo’s shoulder for a moment. 

“I gotta go find Andy,” He muttered, letting go of Hugo, but not without a chaste kiss on the cheek. With that, Varian slid into the crowd, awkwardly trying to avoid small talk with the other nobles in attendance as he went. Varian hates these events just as much as Hugo, he just does a better job at hiding it. 

Speaking of shitty nobles, here comes that guy again. He’s wearing the red of Ingvarr, black hair slick with gel save for one stray hair on his forehead. His face is etched with a smirk, not unlike a cat about to snap the neck of its prey. He skulks up to Hugo with that smarmy look and Hugo represses the urge to sock him in the face.

The noble looks Hugo up and down like he’s debating whether or not to eat him. “Ah, I see your little bird has flown away for the evening?” 

“He went to go find the princess,” Hugo bites out, his eyes turning to scan the ballroom for either Varian or Andrea. 

“Sure he did.” Clearly, the man didn’t believe him. “I don’t believe I know who you are, though I doubt that’s a problem.” Oh bitch he did not just do that. “Lord Ricket. And you are Lord Varian’s servant, I presume? Obviously that rose of Corona wouldn’t choose to be near you otherwise.” 

His laugh was high pitched, as if the laugh escaped him on accident. God, this guy was everything Hugo hated about court. Varian, a rose? Please, the guy may seem small and delicate but was a walking disaster, anyone who spent more than 5 minutes with him knew it This is exactly why he didn’t want to come-

His steaming anger was cut off by a small hand slipping into his, warm and soft. 

“Hugo,” Andrea whined, the u sounding more like an  _ oo _ sound. Hugo would die before he admitted it was cute. “Uncle Varian needs you.” She tugged on his arm, trying to get him to move with all her little baby strength. It didn’t work. She simply stood at an angle, hair falling to the floor. 

Hugo blinked. He’d never seen Andrea act like this to anyone but her parents, grandparents, and of course Varian. Her face was scrunched up with the effort of trying to move someone a good five times her size. 

Lord Ricket blinked in shock at the little intruder. Recognizing the princess, his dark grin turned into a neutral frown and slunk back into the crowd of bodies. Andrea let go of Hugo’s hand and fell onto the floor with a soft  _ thunk. _ Her dress spread out around her like a blanket, undoubtedly getting dirty. 

“I hate balls,” She grumbled.

That got his attention. “You do?” He honestly expected Andrea to love this. She thrived on being the center of attention, and this would be no exception. The first of the new generation, all of the older royals loved to crowd her and shower her in praises, and she seemed to eat it up. 

“Yea!” She yelled, raising her arms over her head, but making no movement to get up from the floor. “Everyone’s super boring, it’s all ‘nice to meet you’ and ‘I like your dress’! I don’t even like dresses, they’re itchy!” 

Her complaints… they sounded so much like his own. The stuffy atmosphere, snooty rich people, awkward clothes, these were the things both he and Varian hated about balls, and it’s why they avoided them at all costs. The only thing that made these things worth his time… 

...was Varian. 

Hugo remembers his first ball in Corona. He’d been miserable. It was judgemental noble after judgemental noble, looking down at him because of his heritage, his past, his unorthodox relationship. If Varian hadn’t been there, Hugo would not have lasted 20 minutes without throwing an alchemy bomb. 

Having Varian by his side to help him adjust his collar, gag at the nobles who tried to flirt, mock the petty arguments, those were what made formal events passable. Is that why Andrea wanted Varian here? Not to steal him for herself, but so she could have a like mind help her power through this? It was her first formal birthday ball, after all. This was technically Andrea’s introduction to court beyond hiding behind her mother’s skirts, hence the big fuss. 

No wonder she wanted Varian here. 

Hugo sighed. He felt like a total jerk. Well, he knew he’d been a jerk to dislike a toddler, but it felt justified. Now, not so much. Andrea’s arms were still stretched over her head, and Hugo leaned down to grab them in his own. With one quick motion, he pulled the little princess upright. 

“Come on, let’s go find our favorite alchemist,” He said, and Andrea’s face lit up. Still holding his hands, she pulled him through the crowds, letting Hugo look over everyone’s heads to find him. It took a few minutes (how many people did Rapunzel invite?), but they finally spotted Varian chatting with Ricket, who seemed much more at ease. Varian, on the other hand, seemed very annoyed, his eyes flashing with rage. In any other situation, they guy would’ve gotten decked by the shorter alchemist. 

Hugo and Andrea shared a knowing look. For all her bratiness, the girl was incredibly perceptive and smart. After all, her taste in people was impeccable. 

“Uncle Varian!” She called, speeding up and making Hugo trip slightly as he tried to keep up. Said uncle’s face lit up considerably at the interruption, brightening even more when he saw who she was dragging around. 

“Hey you two,” He grinned, and Andrea let go of one of Hugo’s hands to grab onto Varian’s. Reaching over the princess, he gave Hugo a peck on the cheek. “I was just talking to… Rickey?”

The lord’s face turned an ugly purple. “Ricket.” He gritted out. “I do believe I’ve been introduced to your…”

“Boyfriend. Not a servant.” Hugo supplied, grin stretching across his face. 

“Yes, it was lovely to meet you… and you as well, princess, I’m honored to meet you.” 

Andrea grinned a toothy smile. “I’m not.” Varian’s shoulders shook with hidden laughter.

The noble looked like he was struggling to swallow a grape. He at least had the manners to bow to Andrea before making his leave once more, hopefully for good. Varian hummed, leaning his head on Hugo’s shoulder and glancing down at Andrea. 

“I see you two are getting along now?” 

“For now, yup.” Hugo popped the p. “And I do believe you owe this young lady a dance? For shame, Varian.”

“Alright, Alright!” Varian lifted his head off of Hugo, and the taller mourned the loss. “I’m gonna need you to let go of her hand, though.”

“No!” 

This shocked them both. “No?” Hugo asked.

“You gotta dance too!”

“Oh,  _ now _ we can share him?” Varian smacked his boyfriend, but otherwise didn’t dispute the claim. 

“Just for tonight.” The princess said, puffing up her chest as if she was making a royal decree, clearly copying her mother. She pulled the two of them back onto the dance floor, boyfriends grabbing hands as they went. The three were now forming a small circle, moving in time to the upbeat song now playing. 

“Hey Andrea,” Hugo murmured. “You were kidding about the just tonight thing, right?”

“You can have him on weekends.”

“Wha- if anything I need him on weekdays!” The two bickered over custody the rest of the night, the sound of music and Varian’s laughter filling both of their ears. 

So maybe Hugo didn’t hate her. But she was still a brat.

Good thing she had Hugo to guide her. 

...He was _so_ gonna recruit her to prank Eugene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Andrea was partially based off me as a kid. I HATED formal events with a passion.


	5. Snow Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian and snow never really got along, but SICK Varian and snow? Hugo is in for a struggle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings! This was part of a prompt palooza on discord! Wooooo

Hugo noticed something was up when Varian didn’t even acknowledge his presence as he entered the Royal Lab. 

Each day some new problem came up. A broken pipe here, an idea from the princess there. All of it meant Varian was struggling to fulfill his duties in Corona and the library. As the Royal Engineer and Eternal Librarian, Varian tried to split his time evenly between the two endeavors, but Hugo could tell it was starting to wear him down. He was a conman, a thief, it was his job to notice the small details about people. And he certainly noticed his little moonflower’s slumped shoulders, tense muscles, and bloodshot eyes. Hugo, without the royal title, spent most of his time working in the library, but he still visited his boyfriend in his lab at least a few times a day. Today was no exception. The library was always closed on Saturdays, usually also Varian’s free day from Corona. It was a day where they could just do whatever they wanted. Conduct any fun experiments, mess with an idea, and usually spend the evening together on a date. But as he poked his head in around 10 am, Varian was idly tinkering with the same stuff he had been last night. It was like he never even moved from that chair since Hugo came to say goodnight. 

“Babe?” He called, and Varian let out a hum. He lowered the broken pipe he’d been messing with and looked up at his boyfriend. His eyes were unnaturally dull, scaring Hugo. It was as if the life was sucked right out of him. Distantly, Hugo also noticed Varian’s face was sickly pale, and his arms were shaking ever so slightly. Nonetheless, he smiled up at Hugo and moved to rise up out of his chair. 

That’s when it all went wrong. 

Varian’s legs shook and buckled like a newborn calf, and he barely caught himself on the table, resting his forearms on his workbench. “H-hey, what are you doing up so late?” Varian struggled to catch his breath, the near fall taking all his energy. 

Hugo quickly moved over to support Varian, grabbing his waist and arm. “It’s morning.” He said.

“It is? Since when?”

“It’s like, 10:30 now.” Hugo said, concern growing. “Did you get any sleep last night?”

Varian shook his head, and then wobbled even more. That must’ve really disoriented him, he must be dizzy as all hell. All-nighters were extremely common for both of them, but something about the situation told Hugo it was more than exhaustion. 

“I’ve been trying to fix the pipe for next week’s banquet. It can’t be morning, it was just midnight like, 10 hours ago.”

Hugo blanched. “That… that’s correct.” 

Varian blinked, trying to comprehend. “Oh!” He finally said after a concerning pause. “Sweet. Ok. Great. I have a meeting at noon? I think?”

Hugo frowned. He remembered Varian mentioning how terrible a meeting went two days ago. He and the King got along a lot better nowadays, but it was still an incredibly petty relationship. Lots of snark on both sides. 

On one memorable occasion, Fred-dick sicced a sleazy prince from the nearby kingdom on Varian, hoping he’d try and woo Varian. He did, and got punch all over his nice suit for his efforts. 

That was a fun day. 

“Varian… what day is it?”

Varian’s eyebrows scrunched up in thought. “T...thursday? No, Friday?”

“Saturday.” 

Varian gasped. “It is?” He tried to stand up, shock coloring his features, but his legs couldn’t take it, and he was sent sprawling. Hugo tried to steady him, but he wasn’t nearly as strong as Varian. He never was. Varian fell to the floor, sending papers flying everywhere as he tried to steady himself on the table. Just before his head hit the floor, Hugo managed to grab him. 

Cursing violently, he repositioned himself so Varian was laying in his lap. Varian’s breaths were wheezy and unsteady. While he always had a slight flush on his face, it was much more prominent and stretched beyond his nose, turning his cheeks a fiery red. It was as if…

Oh no. Hugo placed his hand to his boyfriend’s forehead, and it was just what he feared. Fever. 

“Come on,” He said, slowly helping Varian rise to his feet again. “We should get you to the infirmary.” 

Hugo didn’t want to admit it, but he was a bit freaked out. He’d only seen Varian sick twice before, when they were on the road. The first was a minor cold. Varian’s kitten sneezes had been so adorable, the others had had a fun time teasing him about it. The second time… not so much. Being raised on a farm meant his immune system was robust, but he’d caught a particularly bad flu strain, and was essentially on bedrest for a week. He’d been half delirious, murmuring something about his dad, sister, and brother, whispered apologies as Nuru had wiped his head with a wet rag. When he got sick, he got  _ really _ sick. For Varian to be this down, it was a bad sign. 

Varian was able to walk alright once he was back up, thank the Sun. Hugo would  _ not _ be able to carry him all the way to the infirmary. He helped Varian up the stairs out from their royal lab. He hadn’t been to the infirmary many times, but from what Varian told about his pre-Hugo castle life, he was a frequent visitor and knew most of the nurses on a first name basis. 

-

Slowly but surely they passed through the brightly lit halls. It must be giving Varian a killer headache, and Hugo tried to turn Varian away from the candles and towards the dim light of the windows. Suddenly, Varian stopped moving, staring out the nearest window. Hugo nearly tripped from the abrupt stop, before turning to see what caught his boyfriend’s attention.

There wasn’t much of a view, just a grey sky and soft flakes of snow continuing their descent. It’d been snowing on and off all of yesterday, and it seems the snow wasn’t letting up anytime soon. 

Wait. 

Shit.

_ Snow. _

Before Hugo could turn the younger away, Varian had broken free of his grip, stumbling up to the window. He raised a shaking hand to the window pane, immediately retracting it when it was cold to the touch. 

“No, no no no…” He murmured. Then, with a burst of energy that took Hugo  _ way _ off guard, Varian bolted down the hall opposite the direction of the infirmary. He skidded slightly as he rounded a corner, and for a moment, Hugo was frozen with shock. Then he shook himself out of it, and chased after Varian.

“Wait!” He cried. “Where the hell are you going?”

“I have to go find-” His voice was interrupted by a sneeze. “My dad! I gotta make sure he’s ok!” 

Right. Great. Anytime it snowed, Varian’s first action was always to find his dad and make sure he was safe. A leftover stress from the amber incident, he’d said. This was the first time it snowed in Hugo’s stay at the castle. When the sky cried white on their travels, Varian would begin to panic a little, only soothed by the idea that it probably wasn’t snowing in Corona. Even though Varian hadn’t used the amber solution in any experiments in nearly 2 months now, it seems old habits die hard. There was just one problem.

“Hairstripe, he’s in  _ Old Corona!” _ Hugo called out, desperately trying to catch up. Varian may have shorter legs, but he was fucking speedy. Was he delirious with fever? He had to be. Unless Varian took a horse or some heavy clothes, it wasn’t a good idea to go galavanting in the snow, even when healthy. Hugo looked around the empty foyer briefly, convinced he lost Varian for a second, before noticing the grand doors were slightly ajar. 

“I swear to god, that boy is gonna get us both killed one of these days,” He grumbled.

Taking a deep breath, the alchemist steps out into the snow.

The wind bites against his face almost instantly, cutting in its chill. It whips his hair haphazardly, and Hugo has to squint to see. He moves to step into the snow, and regrets it almost instantly as his shoes are soaked. The snow itself isn’t the deepest he’s ever seen it, and the storm itself isn’t the worst, but it’s a good 5 inches of snow and the wind is brutal. That’s enough for Hugo to get worried. 

“Varian!” He yells, voice quickly swept away by the wind. “Varian, where are you?” He looks down to see rapidly disappearing footprints and wades in their direction. Varian couldn’t have gotten far, right? There’s no way he should’ve been able to make it beyond the castle gates in this weather, but as he glances around the courtyard, he can’t find the younger alchemist. God damn is that boy stubborn. Hugo normally loves it, but not right now.

He sloshed through the snow towards the main city. “Come on, goggles, you’re in no condition to do this!” He yells, a bit louder than before. Finally, he notices a small form shaking like a leaf by the central courtyard. Hugo rushed over, thanking every god out there as Varian came into focus. He’s sitting on the fountain, and is trying to stand up, but he only makes a few inches before crumbling to the ground. He tries to stand up again, but a bad tremor renders it useless. As Hugo approached, he could hear Varian gasping for breath, desperately trying to summon the strength he needed but choking, each exhale sounding more like a wheeze. He looks up, and tears swim in his eyes. 

This was a delicate situation, Hugo realized. He knew how to deal with Varian’s panic attacks and flashbacks normally; coach him through breathing exercises, establish he’s safe, work their way back up to normal, but this is different.

For one, Varian’s sick. Possibly dangerously so. And second, he just ran out into a snowstorm, there’s no time to establish that he’s safe. Hugo has to get him inside first, and deal with the fallout after. 

He touches Varian’s shoulder, and the smaller flinches violently, but otherwise doesn’t move. He takes that as an invitation to wrap his other arm around Varian, so he’s gripping both shoulders. 

“Hey,” he whispers. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”

“No, I gotta check on dad.” Varian moans, dull blue eyes meeting clear green. “He needs my help.”

“He’s ok, I-” He almost says  _ promise,  _ but lord knows how Varian could react to that word right now. “I know he is. He wouldn’t want you out in this weather while sick.”

It seems to comprehend slowly, long eyelashes blinking in confusion. Then, recognition crosses Varian’s face and he relaxes into Hugo’s grip. Thank god; it means he’s not too panicked. He supported Varian’s back as they both stood.

“Come on, let’s go inside before we freeze to death.”

-

The walk back into the palace and down to the infirmary was quiet, with only the sounds of sniffles and sneezes. Varian leaned his head on Hugo’s shoulder with a hum, smiling into his neck.

“You still with me?” Hugo asked, slowing down slightly.

“Yea,” Varian responded drowsily. “Thanks for coming to get me.”

“Of course, babe.”

“I’m sorry I did that.” Varian continued, words slurring ever so slightly. The whole escapade probably wore him out. “My brain’s all whack today.”

Hugo moved his arm to flick Varian’s skull. “Your brain’s whack everyday.” In response Varian moved a freezing cold hand up Hugo’s back, and he’d let out a tiny squeak. Varian’s shoulders shook with laughter, a dopey smile etched on his face.

They’d practically waltzed into the infirmary, soaking wet and shivering, and the doctor was quick to give them neighboring beds and medicine.

“Honestly, Varian,” The doctor said. “I was hoping that boyfriend of yours would knock some sense into you.”

Hugo grinned sheepishly. “I try.” 

He knew he was going to get sick from all of this, either from the trek in the snow or from Varian. His old self would have complained to the high heavens, but right now, he didn’t really mind. His focus was more on Varian than himself, it had been for a while. It was the kind that made you pretty loopy, and Hugo was starting to feel it kicking in. All he could think about was how much he loved Varian. 

Sure, they’d only been dating for the past 5 months, but Hugo was pretty confident he loved Varian. He was waiting to say it, maybe after a nice date or anniversary. 

But as he watched Varian’s chest rise and fall, soft whistles come from Varian’s stuffy nose, he couldn’t help himself. 

“I love you,” He whispered, reaching out to grasp Varian’s hand in his own. Bleary blue eyes opened and glanced in his direction. Varian opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by a fit of violent, kitten-like sneezes. It was all too much. Hugo burst into tiny giggles, only for his own sneezes to interrupt it. 

What a sight they had to be, holding hands across beds, laughing and coughing and sneezing. But Hugo wouldn’t trade it for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ngl I'm not happy with this one but if you liked it feel free to comment


	6. Revenge is Sweet but You're Sweeter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew kidnaps Hugo to get back at Varian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for blood, torture, general violence. Nothing too graphic.   
> GOD THIS TOOK FUCKING FOREVER TO GET OUT. Basically my cat had a cancer scare and my depression is at an all time high so I was unable to get anything done. I wasn't happy with this fic for most of it until I sat my ass down and said I Will Finish This If It Kills Me.  
> I'm still not THRILLED with this piece but it's finished and fuck it it's done i'm DONE I HAVE DEADLINES. This is kinda a companion to chapter 3 just REVERSED! Bc I like parallels

Hugo’s vision blurred into existence after a few blinks. As far as he could tell, he was trapped in some old barn, arms trapped behind his back. He flexed, tugging at the restraints on his hands. The ropes burned his wrists, but they didn’t budge. His legs scrambled in an attempt to stand, but it didn’t work, and he was stuck still on the floor. His eyes scanned the vicinity, trying to gauge his surroundings. 

“What the…” he mumbled. His eyes blinked asynchronously as he struggled to focus. 

How the heck did this even happen? 

The last thing Hugo remembered was that he was talking to Nuru and Yong, sharing some hot cocoa while Varian got some more firewood. They were talking about Varian’s unusually anxious behavior as of late. He was already an anxious guy, but ever since he got a letter from home, he’d been a wreck. He started looking over his shoulder constantly and even sleeping with a weapon by his side. And anytime any of the three asked, Varian would abruptly change the subject. 

“What if we all asked him about it? Like, at once?” Yong asked. 

Hugo bit his lip. If he were in Varian’s position, he wouldn’t want to spill. He doesn’t want his position compromised, and Varian likely didn’t want the same done to him. 

That’s what he told himself, anyway. He definitely did not have a crush on Varian and wanted to keep Varian as close as possible for as long as possible. 

He moved to object, but Nuru and raised her mug in agreement.

“When he gets back, we’ll confront him. Something’s bothering him, and we’re his friends. We only want to help.” 

Help, or bother? To Hugo it felt like they were too nosy for their own good, and were excusing it as concern. But hey what did he know. Not like he had many friends before them. He’d thrown back the cocoa in quiet acceptance, said goodnight to the others… and now…

Moonlight filtered in through the barn’s broken windows and decaying roof, seeping into every crack and filling the room with shadows. 

A shadow from which a man stepped out.

His hair was slightly greasy, yet kept in an immaculate bun. A long, well-groomed beard did little to hide the feral grin on his face. He sauntered across creaking floors, circling around the teen like a shark. He carried a sword which left imprints on the floorboards, 

Hugo puffed his chest up in defense. He wasn’t going to be intimidated by this… kidnapper? Assailant? Whatever he was he looked like a jerk. 

“Finally you’re all awake. I was worried I’d used too much.”

“Too much?” 

“Sleeping powder. Just sprinkled it into your water supply when you weren’t looking. Child’s play, really.” The man laughed, resuming his pacing. 

Hugo cursed internally. He let his guard down and paid the price. Being with the trio of hooligans he called friends made him soft, as Donella would’ve said. How long had this man been following them? How long had he waited to strike, judging them and gauging every opportunity, deciding that tonight was perfect to attack mere teens? He just hoped the other three were safe.

Wait, no. Don’t think that. Remember Hugo, you don’t care about them. They’re a means to an end. 

As Hugo’s eyes adjusted to the dim barn, he began to notice more silhouettes creeping in the dark. They slowly joined their comrade, as if summoned. They were of varying shapes and sizes, age and creed. They were dressed too poorly to be bounty hunters, looking more like weary travellers. Further back, near a large hole in the barn roof, was a hot air balloon. It was likely how the teen was transported here. A floorboard splintered under the largest man’s weight.

“Who are you?” Hugo barked. “What do you want with me?”

“You mean your friend never mentioned us?” A short woman asked, stepping up to him and patting his head in mock sympathy. “You poor sheep, travelling with a wolf.” 

He recoiled at her touch, nose scrunching up and eyes screwing shut. Her hot breath tickled the strands of hair on his neck. 

“We are the separatists of Saporia. I’m the leader, Andrew.” The man bowed. “I hope you don’t mind that we… borrowed you for the evening?”

Ah, Saporia. Something about rebels against Corona, right? Varian had mentioned them in passing once. His face had screwed into pure disgust at seeing a crest painted on a wall in Bayagnor.

“Pricks,” He’d muttered, throwing a goo bomb to destroy the paint. 

Likely this guy had beef with Donella, which meant it was up to Hugo to get himself out of here safely. He wondered what she did to earn this anger. 

“Yea sure, love getting kidnapped by washed up Coronans,” Hugo snapped, bracing for the inevitable smack that followed. The other kidnappers laughed at his pain. He’d seen this scenario many times under Donella. Sometimes he was the victim, sometimes he was the instigator. But it always worked the same. Those who tried to play the hero, those who tried to resist, they always got the worst of the treatment. 

Sure enough, Andrew snapped his fingers, and his cronies descended. 

“Hope you don’t mind, we have to…  _ prepare you _ for our guest of honor.” 

-

How long did he sit there, taking hit after hit? They were never intense, rather a series of mildly painful blows that built up over time. Andrew refused to let his compatriots hurt him too much. 

“He needs to stay alive and intact.” He said. “Save the broken bones for our dear old friend.”

That didn’t stop any of it from hurting. It didn’t stop the blood that trickled down his nose from a particularly nasty punch, nor the stinging of Andrew’s knife across his back. One eye was beginning to swell shut, and his ribs, while not broken, still ached from repetitive kicks. Individually, it was nothing Hugo couldn’t handle. But combined, the wounds were starting to wear him down. 

He never let it show though. If his tormentors got wind of his breaking will, they’d mock him to no end. He had to keep his chin up and show he was better than them. That’s what Don taught him, anyway. Either play up the child act and gain their pity, or stay determined. But above all, never give away information. 

He never played hero normally. But then again, he was usually the youngest, the favorite. Donella would let heads roll if her cronies let Hugo suffer when they could take the hit. It was her way of showing she cared, in a twisted way. 

In this scenario, he had to be the hero. There would be no sympathy shown, there hadn’t been so far. No, he’d have to figure this out on his own. Yong and Nuru could come save him, sure, but he didn’t want them to risk it. Not that he cared about them or anything! It was just… they were likely to fail. Right?

Oh who was he kidding. Hugo didn’t want to get the others involved.

Responsiblity sucked. How does Varian do it?

_ BANG! _

_ “ANDREW!” _

Speak of the devil.

The door to the barn was blasted open, revealing Varian filled with a fury the likes of which the other had never seen. His eyes were wild, pupils like pin pricks. He rapidly scanned the area, softening only slightly when he saw Hugo was alive, only to reignite to even further anger when he saw Hugo’s current state. His chest rose and fell with rapid breaths, indicating he ran here. 

Andrew spread his arms wide, greeting Varian like he was visiting for dinner, as opposed to  _ holding his friend hostage.  _ “You made it! I was worried you didn’t get my message.”

Varian held up a piece of paper. The words were impossible to make out from afar, but the implications sent shivers down the spine. “I got your note.” He growled, crumpling the paper in one hand and tossing it to the floor. “Now what do you want?” His voice was venom. 

It sounded a lot like Donella, in Hugo’s opinion. 

Andrew’s companions slinked ever closer, forming a semi circle behind the prisoner, while Andrew saunted up close to Varian. 

To say Hugo was shocked was an understatement. He’d never seen raw fury like that from the normally awkward and intelligent alchemist. And apparently he knew this guy, which meant it was  _ not _ about getting revenge on Donella. 

What had Varian done to get himself an enemy like this?

“Oh come on, I can’t say hi to an old friend?”

“We are not  _ friends. _ ”

“We were, at some point.” Andrew hummed, wrapping an arm around Varian. “Such a shame. And I think you know what I want.” The younger was as tense as a stone. He sent a death glare up at the man and didn’t answer the question. 

He patted Varian’s cheek condescendingly. It was a facsimile of the constant, warm touches of home. Varian wanted to throw up. 

Varian grit his teeth, shoving Andrew off and backing up towards his friends. A hand slipped into his pocket, preparing to throw down a bomb, but one of the goons surged forward. His broad muscles pinned Varian to the floor, cheek falling with a loud  _ smack.  _ The bomb rolled across the floor. 

He flailed his feet, akin to a rabid animal, but it was no use. The man drug Varian to the wall where previously unnoticed shackles glinted in the moonlight. Each cuff was wrapped around Varian’s wrists. He pulled, able to get about a meter away from the wall, but that was as far as it let him. 

"Oh come on," Andrew said, circling around Varian like a snake ready to swallow its prey. "You act like you’re all mature now, but I’ve seen the real you. Deep down, you're still the same naive, evil brat I met in prison." 

Prison? When did Varian go to prison?

Varian's body shook with fury. "I am  _ nothing _ like you." He growled. 

"Are you sure about that? Didn't you do the same thing I did?" He fiddled with a knife, getting into Varian's personal space and dragging the weapon down Varian's cheek. "We both wanted something, so we kidnapped the one our target holds dear. And we both threatened to kill them if they didn't cooperate."

Hugo felt his insides turn to ice. 

“I want,” Andrew whispered, leaning up to Varian’s face, hot breath ghosting across his cheeks. “For you to suffer.”

Varian met his friend’s gaze, and his body shook with barely hidden disgust. He’d let Andrew hurt the ones he loved once before, he’ll be damned if he lets it happen again. From the looks of it though, he was too late. Guilt and anger bubbled in his stomach like a volcano. 

“Don’t worry, goggles,” Hugo said, keeping his voice steady. “I’ve had way worse. Trust me, it’s like kitten scratches.” 

Varian’s eyes twinkled with unshed tears, yet he smiled, bunny teeth peeking out from between his lips. “You look like shit.” A faint blush spread across his cheeks. Even now, covered in bruises and blood, Hugo still managed to take Varian’s breath away. 

_ If we get out of this, _ he vowed to himself,  _ I’m going to tell him how I feel.  _

For a brief moment, he glanced down at his hands, and then back up at Hugo. The older teen followed with his eyes and allowed a small smile.

A bobby pin.

He put his hands behind his back, to prevent anyone from seeing.

_ Distract him, _ Varian mouthed.

_ How? _ Hugo hissed back. 

Varian shrugged. The older alchemist rolled his eyes. 

“Hey Andy, was it?” Hugo raised his head to stare Andrew down. He let a familiar facade slide into place. “Ya mind explaining why I’m here?”

Varian’s eyes widened, and he banged his head against the wall in frustration.  _ Not like that! _ He thought. 

“Like I get that he’s here to  _ suffer _ or whatever,” He raised his eyebrows to imitate quotation marks. “But uh. I don’t get why you need me. Maybe I’m just not smart enough to understand your plan.” 

It was a cheap shot, appealing to the ego, but it did the trick. Andrew seemed like the type to gloat and monologue, and sure enough, he slunk across the room towards Hugo, a pep in his step. 

“See, it’s quite simple, really. Varian here… well. He hurt us a while back.” Varian rolled his eyes, but made no comment. With the attention off of him, he picked at the lock. The soft clinks of the metal were easily ignored. 

“For a while, I thought that if I ever saw him again, I’d make good on my promise, and splatter his body on the ruins of Corona.”

“Yea good luck with that last bit.” Hugo rolled his eyes. “So what, I was just bait?”

“Oh no,” Andrew’s grin was near maniacal. “We figured death was too light of a punishment. No. If there’s one thing the kid never shut up about, it’s family. Oh, I love my dad, ooh I can’t wait until we find a way to free him, ooh those darn royals tore my family apart blah blah blah. So what better torture…” 

He slashed Hugo’s cheek with the knife. Blood oozed out the cut as Hugo hissed in pain. From the corner of his eye he saw Varian flinch, arms shaking as he tried to pick the locks faster. 

“...Than to force him to watch us kill the ones he loves most?” 

The word  _ love _ and  _ Hugo _ were not commonly used together, let alone when talking about Varian. And yet… Hugo’s stomach fluttered at the idea. He was a loved one? It seemed almost impossible, but he could see the frantic energy Varian exuded as he tried to work as quietly and discreetly as possible. 

No, he probably just means friend… right?

_ What if he doesn’t, _ a traitorous voice whispered.  _ What if it’s exactly what you think it means? _

He couldn’t help it. “Varian?” He asked, voice soft.

The younger alchemist gave him a sheepish smile, hiding his hands behind his back. 

A mental war was raging in Varian’s head. Every fiber of his being screamed to save Hugo, go to him,  _ protect him, _ but he couldn’t do that while cuffed. The only way to save Hugo was to keep the attention off himself and solely on Hugo. He couldn’t let Andrew see what he was doing.

“Aw, how sweet,” Andrew crooned. He leveled the sword and Hugo’s chin, redirecting his gaze. His soft expression morphed into a scowl of defiance. 

With the sword still at his jaw, Andrew shoved his fist into Hugo’s stomach. The wind was knocked out of him, but Hugo kept his head steady. Any sudden movements could mean he bled out. 

Varian let out a whine. 

He had to focus. 

After a few more seconds, the first cuff was open. 

“Trying to play it cool, huh?” Andrew stood to his full height, dropping the sword. He loomed over Hugo and grit his teeth. The man was no longer in a playing mood. He wanted Varian to suffer, and by god the kid was gonna suffer sooner rather than later. 

He raised his boot, and slammed the toe into Hugo’s face with a  _ crunch _ . His glasses cracked on impact. His head hit the wooden beam with enough force to rattle his skull.

Andrew gripped his neck and squeezed. The air escaped Hugo in a rush and he moaned in protest. 

Varian couldn’t suppress the scream that pushed its way out. The still intact chain rattled with his tugs. 

“Andrew please,” His voice shook on the second word. “Let him go. It’s me you hate.”

“Did you not listen? You’re a smart kid, Varian. I’m going to  _ kill him,  _ and then I’m going to kill  _ everyone else you love. _ ” His fingers tightened around Hugo’s neck, and he turned back to the older teen.

Hugo’s vision was darkening. “Varian,” He wheezed.

The second cuff snapped off.

And Varian  _ lunged. _

With an inhuman cry, he toppled Andrew, sending the man sprawling onto the floor. They rolled onto the floor until Varian was on top. Quick as a flash, he grabbed the discard sword and put it to Andrew’s neck. 

Hugo gasped for breath, coughing as sweet air filled his lungs. He blinked the dark spots out of his eyes.

The other Saporians ran to help their leader, but faltered at the sword.

“Stay back!” Varian screamed. He pushed it deeper into Andrew’s neck, nearly drawing blood. “Release him!” He ordered. “Let Hugo go or I kill him right here, right now!” 

“You wouldn’t,” Andrew snarled. Varian’s glare pierced his very soul, and the furious teen smacked him across the face. 

Damn that felt good.

The last time Varian had been this angry… god, it might’ve been when he was 14. When he saw how happy Rapunzel was with her family, while his own suffered, while he withered away and turned to ash.

The Saporians were quick to obey, one of the taller men untying Hugo. He slid down the pole, grabbing at his throat with his now free hands. His wrists were stained red with ropeburn. 

Slowly, he stood to his feet on shaky legs, leaning against the pillar for support. 

Satisfied, Varian turned back to Andrew, who was smiling.

“What are you so happy about?” the alchemist hissed. 

Andrew laughed. “You really haven’t changed a bit.”

Varian’s eyes narrowed. He slammed the hilt of the sword into Andrew’s head, and the man fell unconscious. He stood off of him. 

The other separatists did nothing. They knew what he was capable of. Without any leverage, without their leader, it was a losing battle. Especially now that Hugo was free. 

Pointing the sword at the Saporians, he said, “Next time, I won’t let you guys go alive.” He slammed it down into the floorboards with a huff. 

“Now  _ get out of my sight.” _

-

The walk back to the campsite was quiet for the most part. 

Hugo was leaning on Varian heavily, one arm wrapped around Varian’s neck and the other clutching at his waist. Everytime he staggered or tripped, Varian’s grip tightened ever so slightly. 

His eyes were stone cold, but never directed at Hugo. If he saw Hugo looking, Varian’s eyes softened, glittering under the stars. It was nearing daybreak. The smoke from their campsite was now visible.

The tents came into view, and Hugo’s entire form sagged in relief. He was  _ so _ ready to drop into bed and not wake up for 12 hours, but he needed medical care.

Nuru and Yong had long gone to bed, blissfully unaware of what had transpired. The next hour was quiet as well, Varian silently tending to the most serious ones. It was a tender moment, their own little world. A bubble that would be broken by speaking. So for now, Hugo was silent. He let Varian dab at the blood under his nose, let him remove his glasses for safekeeping, let his breath trail over Hugo’s cheeks as they both blushed. 

At last, the worst was over.

“So…” Hugo finally said. “That was… something.”

Varian snorted. “Understatement.”

“We gonna talk about what just happened? Any of it?”

“Which parts do you want to talk about?”

Hugo hummed. “I mean I’d like to know what the fuck that guy was…” Varian turned green. “But not right now.” 

Varian breathed a sigh of relief. “Then, what?”

Hugo bit his lip, preparing for the worst. “You love me…?” 

“Oh…” Varian’s face lit up bright red. His eyes averted, looking anywhere but Hugo. “I-I mean… maybe not love… not yet at least. Not that I hate you! No, I…” He winced. “I… like you. A lot.” He moaned. “That was the worst confession ever please stab me now.”

Hugo laughed. He couldn’t help it. After everything that had happened today, from kidnapping to torture to  _ this _ , it was so overwhelming and horrible and also so  _ perfect. _

“How about, instead of that…” He said. “I uh… say I feel the same? Not love yet, I don’t think but… if you wanna try and get to that point?”

The sun rose behind Varian as he smiled. “I’d like that a lot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A reminder I take requests! I'm focusing my energy on the zine piece so that comes before any new works :) but i may post some tiny drabbles in the meanwhile


	7. Ocean Waves and Glittering Sand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang decides to take a beach day in between trials.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings! This is pure 100% fluff. I wrote this for HoneyxMonkey thank you so much for the other fic ilysm QAQ I hope I did your prompt justice!!

“Run that by me again. We’re doing what now?” Varian asked.

“We’re going to the beach!” Yong said, scuttling around as he prepared his bag. “You know, it’s got sand, and water, and sun?” 

“I know what the beach is. Just… why are we going to the beach?”

Varian had just woken up, expecting to find himself the first one awake. With any luck, he could get a kick start on reading his mother’s journal and messing with some theories. The sun had just barely risen, the dew already evaporating. Today was going to be bright and hot, he could feel it in his bones. 

Varian stepped out of his tent, mind booting up for the day, only to find everyone else awake and packing bags. Not emergency “We’ve been compromised we have to leave now” bags, no no no. That would make sense. Instead Nuru had thrown a swimsuit and shirt at Varian and told him to get changed. 

Nuru looked up from where she was folding up her towel. “Why not?” She responded, shouldering her bag. “We’ve been working really hard, we could use a break.”

That was true. They’d just completed the 4th trial and were heading towards the Dark Kingdom, a good three months away. From what Rapunzel told him, this stretch of their quest would not be easy. So it made sense they wanted an easy day before things got hectic again. 

Still… Varian’s idea of an easy day seemed wildly different from theirs. He looked to Hugo for help. Surely he’d understand that Varian wanted to work today. 

“What do you have against the beach, goggles?” Hugo asked, walking up and dumping a sunhat on Varian’s head. “I know you hate the sun like every other vampire, but it could do you some good.”

The betrayal was unreal. 

“Screw off,” The younger alchemist muttered good naturedly. “I don’t hate the beach, but…”

Hugo raised an eyebrow. “But?” 

This was a losing battle, it seemed. Varian let out a sigh of defeat. “But nothing,” he grumbled. “I guess we’re going to the beach.” The other three let out a collective cheer. 

-

The sun beat down on sandy shores and crystalline water, and Varian wondered why he ever complained in the first place. 

The beach was gorgeous, he had to give props to the others for finding it. Even though it was still early a good number of people seemed to have had the same idea. 

“Last one in the water has to bathe Ruddiger!” Yong called, preparing to rush into the water. He was stopped when Varian grabbed his arm. 

“Sunscreen first, Yong.  _ Then _ last one in the water can bathe Ruddiger.” Yong pouted, but didn’t complain as he covered himself. Varian did the same, watching amused as Yong shot into the water like a rocket. 

“Hey, Hugo, can you come get my back?” Varian asked, turning to where he and Nuru were setting up the towels. Hugo smirked and sauntered over, and Varian regretted it instantly.

“No pictures on my back.” He warned. “Or I will kill you” 

“Oh please, like you would even try.” 

“Spite is a powerful motivator.”

Hugo rolled his eyes but said nothing. “There, go chase Yong or whatever.”

“It’s too early to get in the water.” Varian responded, walking over to their setup. Nuru had gone to follow Yong, so it was just him. He plopped down on his stomach, grabbing his mom’s journal and placing it in front of him. He still wanted to get a little work done. 

To his left, Hugo had also decided to stay out of the water, but instead of working decided to build a sand castle. Varian couldn’t help himself, he kept straying from the book, instead watching Hugo work out of the corner of his eye. He stared as Hugo stuck out his tongue in concentration, using the wetter sand as mortar as the castle grew an impressive amount. 

For a while, they stayed like this, silently enjoying each other’s presence as they did their own thing. It was a stark contrast to their usual arguments, but not unwelcome.  _ We should do this kind of stuff more often, _ Varian thought.  _ It’s a hell of a way to the next trial, so it’s not like we can’t have a little fun. _

His musings were cut short when a large teen, burly and brash, ran straight through Hugo’s hard work. His feet collided with the sand, sending it everywhere, including into Hugo’s face. He gagged as sand entered his mouth. 

“Watch it!” He yelled, and the teen turned back to give Hugo the finger before bolting off.

The annoyed look on his face was too much. Varian fought to hide his snickers behind his book. Hugo sent him a glare.

“Oh you think that’s funny, do you?” He hissed, no actual bite behind his words. His eyes flashed with mirth, but his lips were pressed into an over exaggerated pout.

Varian let a laugh escape him. “Yes, very much so,” He teased. He sat up. “Need some help rebuilding it?” 

“Yea, and I got an idea.”

Varian raised his eyebrow with a challenging smirk. 

The next hour was not nearly as quiet as the previous, instead filled with laughter and banter as they tried to rebuild the castle. Or rather, Hugo kept trying to rebuild it, Varian was trying to sabotage it. 

“I think you had a little door here,” Varian poked a hole in one of the castle walls. Hugo swatted his hand away. 

“It’s my castle I say what goes where!”

“Man, I’d hate to live with you. You’re a terrible architect.” 

“Well I’m sorry not all of us can reverse engineer ancient automatons at 14 years old. Some of us had better things to do.” 

Nuru and Yong had yet to come back, and while Varian liked to be the voice of reason, the example, Hugo just made it so easy to let loose. No arguments over which way to go, or why Hugo shouldn’t steal their supplies. Today, they were just teenagers with a desire for mischief and a hint of vengeance. 

“You’re lucky I always bring this stuff with me. Otherwise this wouldn’t work as well,” Varian muttered. 

Hugo snorted. “We could have just used a rock, but you were all like  _ no, we gotta do this the right way, I’m an ex-villain and I don’t get to use what I learned often enough. _ ” He joked. Varian stuck his tongue out at that. 

Finally, Varian wiped the sweat off his brow. It was starting to heat up, and he wouldn’t lie if he said the water was looking really nice right about now. 

“Are we done?” He asked, and Hugo scooted back. He put his hands on his hips and admired their work. 

“Looks good to me.” 

Varian eyed it warily. “Shame it’s gonna get destroyed.”

“ _ If _ it gets destroyed, it’ll be for a good cause.” Hugo corrected, wrapping an arm around Varian. The younger tried not to blush as his head brushed against Hugo’s shirtless chest. 

Sure enough, as Hugo let go, the same guy from before came back around. The two alchemists stepped back as he sized up the castle. The teen smirked, and charged right for their hard work…

In a flash of pink smoke, the teen stopped dead in his tracks. “Hey! What the…” He glanced down to see his feet trapped in goo. “The heck is this shit?” He yelled, glaring at the two. 

“Why you don’t mess with alchemists!” Varian responded, ducking as the burly teen tried to swipe at him. “Relax, it’ll wear off in an hour. Enjoy the free sunburn!” With that, Hugo tugged at Varian’s arm and the two ran towards the water. The teen’s screams of anger faded from their ears as they splashed into the ocean. 

“That…” Hugo wheezed, choking on laughter. “Was great.” 

Varian’s own laughter died as he looked at the taller teen. The sunlight glanced off his glasses, bathing him in a warm light as his laughter continued. His warm smile sent shockwaves into Varian’s heart, which gave a weak  _ tha-thump _ . If Varian could stare at this forever, he gladly would. 

Hugo’s laughter finally died, and he saw Varian standing still, cheeks red and eyes ajar. “Earth to googles? Hello?” Varian blinked the stars out of his eyes. “Sorry. Sorry.” 

The water lapped at their legs. The silence stretched on. 

At least until Hugo reached down and splashed water at Varian. He snickered as Varian cried out in alarm and reeled back. 

“Oh, is that how you wanna do things? After everything we’ve been through, you’re gonna betray me like that?”

Hugo’s chest tightened at how lighthearted those words were.

He didn’t let it show on his face. “Yup.” He popped the p. “Your face was so red, I thought you were gonna catch on fire.” 

If anything Varian’s face turned even redder at that. He opened his mouth to speak but Hugo shoved more water his way. 

His shirt was now soaked through. “It is  _ on _ .” He crouched down low, and Hugo prepared for water but instead Varian leaped at him, sending them both tumbling into the water. 

Hugo coughed as water entered his mouth. “Not cool!” He yelled, pushing Varian off. “This is war!” 

He jumped at Varian, but the skinny alchemist scooted out of the way. He was far more graceful in water than he had any right to be, and took full advantage. With Hugo off balance, Varian jumped onto his back, shouting like a madman as Hugo crumpled into the water. 

The blond grabbed Varian’s legs and threw back his back, sending Varian’s upper half into the water. He resurfaced with a shriek. 

What a sight they must have been, screaming and laughing as they tried to murder one another. At some point Nuru and Yong swam over to see the ruckus, and cheered them on.

“Go Varian! Take him down!” Nuru cupped her hands over her cheeks. 

Yong pumped his fist in the air. “Nah! Go Hugo! Fight! Fight! Fight!” 

At this point, Varian had freed himself from Hugo’s back, and the two were circling each other like a dance. 

“Give up now, hairstripe.” Hugo grinned. “You’re so tiny, all I gotta do is walk out a bit farther and I win.” 

“You forget I’m the stronger one. I can just yank your legs out from under you.” 

“Mhm, sure you are. Hey, what’s that on your back?”

Varian frowned. “What?” He turned around, trying to get a glimpse. It was hard to make out, but he could see an  _ H _ written in paler skin. “Oh my god. You didn’t.”

“I totally did.”

“I thought I said no pictures!”

Hugo laughed. “My name isn’t a picture, it’s a word! Oooh, do you still read picture books, is that why you got it confused?” 

That was it. Varian lunged at Hugo with a yell, but Hugo backed up deeper into the water, and sure enough, Varian fell in. He couldn’t get his balance without going underwater, and he coughed and sputtered. His shirt rode up, floating in the water. 

Hugo looked almost bored. “So, you wanna give in?” 

Varian sighed. “Alright, fine…” He dipped underwater, letting his toes touch the ocean floor. Using it as a springboard, he leapt out of the water, grabbing onto Hugo’s shoulders and dunking him under. 

The younger watched as Hugo surfaced, coughing. “Now I’m done.” He grinned. 

-

A few hours later, they had all crawled out of the water, sopping wet and laughing. They all agreed to stay just one more hour, dry off in the sun before heading back to camp. Nuru and Yong took the last hour to build their own sandcastle, now worry free. 

The setting sun warmed Varian’s skin, settling over him like a blanket. It wasn’t too humid, and the breeze from the sea kept him cool enough. Varian stared at the book in front of him, seeing the words but not comprehending them. His eyes fell in and out of focus as he started to drift off. He lowered his head with a pleased hum, and distantly recognized the feeling of someone massaging his scalp. The book slid out from under him, and Varian watched with hazy eyes as a freckled hand placed it by his side. 

“This is nice,” Varian murmured. Hugo hummed in agreement, staring ahead at the ocean waves. His hand never left Varian’s scalp. 

“Yea, we should take the next leg of the trip easy.” Hugo responded. 

“No,” Varian said. “This. Just the two of us, not fighting, just hanging out. Just being ourselves.” He stretched out like a cat. 

Hugo’s eyes softened, chancing a glance down at Varian. Varian’s hair ruffled in the wind, a serene smile across his face. 

Hugo felt his heart skip a beat. “Sounds perfect.” He said. 

They lapsed back into silence, the rushing of the waves more than enough. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on a fluff spree hehehe *pushes bad things happen bingo card aside*


	8. Holding onto One Another Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian and Hugo get married; it's as chaotic as you'd think. But they make it work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: none  
> This piece was written for the Varigo zine! I apologize for not updating this fic in a while, I've been focused entirely on AL. but I do have a bunch of oneshot ideas, so uh. hopefully those will get written?

“Hey kid, you up?”

Varian groaned, rolling over onto his bed, revelling in the sun-kissed sheets. Early morning sun filtered through the windows and onto his cheek. If he had it his way, he’d spend an eternity here, one side warmed by the sun, the other by his fiance. 

Wait.

Varian shot up, hair falling every which way. One side of him was cold, and he remembered why. 

_ I’m getting married today.  _

“Varian you better be up or so help me I’m dragging you out of bed myself!” Eugene called from the other side of the door. “I’m your best man, it’s my job to keep you on track. We got a tight schedule that involves at least five minutes of me trying to talk you out of this!” 

Varian shoved the door open, revealing his brother figure’s disapproving gaze. He sent one right back. 

“You’re not gonna talk me out of this, Eugene. We’ve been over this.” 

Eugene rolled his eyes and held up his hands in surrender. “Yes, yes, Rapunzel told me I’m not allowed to kidnap you, I get it.”

The alchemist snorted. He knew Eugene and Hugo didn’t really hate each other, not anymore. It was an antagonistic friendship, constantly snarking and competing for Varian’s attention, but more than willing to throw hands to protect one another. It was fascinating and hilarious to see. 

“Now come on! We need to get you dressed and at the chapel in one hour! No room for failure, we don’t want a repeat of the engagement party.”

“It wasn’t that bad! Stop holding it over Hugo, he was excited!” Varian yelled, turning around and stepping behind the dressing screen.

Eugene laughed. “The day I stop talking about that is the day I die.” 

-

The announcement of their engagement was chaotic, to say the least. 

They knew the reaction would be… explosive. Varian had a feeling Rapunzel would squeak like a tea kettle, and crush them both into a hug. And Hugo joked Eugene would faint in shock. Or anger. One of the two. The rest of them were up in the air.

Hugo, dramatic as he was, planned for them to walk out to their family, flaunting their rings. 

He spent the 10 minutes before that burning a hole in their floor with his pacing. 

“You seem much more nervous than I am,” Varian remarked, idly fixing Hugo’s collar.

Hugo’s face was clammy and he was searching for an escape route. “Yea, your family is terrifying.” Varian laughed, settling his palms and then forehead onto Hugo’s chest. 

He used to hate their size difference, but now he loved that Hugo was taller than him. Hugo often rested his chin on Varian’s head, engulfing him completely in a hug. It never failed to make Varian feel safe and secure. 

“It’s going to be ok,” he mumbled into Hugo’s chest. “They love you, they love us.” How far he’d come, to be so sure in those words. He felt Hugo’s shaky inhale. 

“Right. Who wouldn’t love me. I’m awesome,” His voice was on the higher end, a telltale sign of anxiety. Still, he was so goddamn happy. He got to hold Varian for the rest of his life, and the world needed to know. 

“Ok.” Hugo stepped back, moving one hand to grasp Varian’s cheek adoringly. He doubted he’d ever get tired of staring into those baby blue eyes. The shorter rested on the hand for a moment, humming in delight. 

Carefully, they stepped out into the courtyard. 

“Yo!” Hugo called, letting his rogue persona take over to mask his swirling anxiety. “I’m sure you’re all wondering why you’re out here… and there’s a good reason! Or rather, two good reasons. BAM!” He raised his and Varian’s hands over their heads. 

There was silence in the courtyard. “I don’t get it!” Yong called.

Hugo then realized, to his horror, their ring fingers were facing away from the crowd. He lowered them in shame, face slowly turning rose red and he crouched on the ground.

Varian ignored him. “We’re getting married.” He said simply. The little party exploded into cheers. He leaned down to pat Hugo’s back in sympathy, letting him stew in embarrassment just until their family descended on them with congratulations. 

Hugo was right though; Eugene did pass out, but from laughing too hard. 

-

Varian stepped out from behind the screen, fully dressed in his tux. It was relatively simple, white with blue and gold embellishments, the corona sun on his right shoulder. The true standout was the blue sash across his waist, indicating his noble status. Varian managed to tame his unruly bangs, but he kept his goggles on. They were his mother’s, and that way it felt like a part of her got to see him get married. 

Eugene gave him a thumbs up, and Varian beamed. He felt on top of the world. 

“Come on,” Eugene said, leading him out the door and into the hall. “We got things to do! People to see!” He walked ahead, Varian trailing behind, when an idea struck the alchemist. Eugene was prattling on about checking flowers and finishing setup, but Varian had only one thing on his list that really mattered. 

He turned a corner when Eugene wasn’t looking, his mind set on one room.

Across the castle, Hugo was trying not to panic.

Usually, Varian was the anxious one. He was the one to wear his shoes down from pacing, to bite his nails down to nubs, to ruin his hair with his hands. But today, it was Hugo who nearly ruined his ponytail on three different occasions, and Nuru’s patience had run thin. 

“Hugo, you look fine, please stop freaking out,” She groaned, fixing his green tie. He was dressed in white like Varian, only without a sash, and the emblem of his home kingdom on his left shoulder. 

“I’m not freaking out!” He protested, slapping her hands away. “I’m just nervous. Pre wedding jitters. Those are normal, right?” 

“I mean yes, but-”

“Good! So I’m normal, everything’s fine, we’re gonna be fine!” He laughed nervously for way too long. His eyes moved every which way, never looking at Nuru. “Is it hot in here or is it just me? Are you hot? I’m hot. Let’s go get some fresh air.” 

He moved towards the door, only to back up when Donella stood in the doorway with Yong in tow. Nuru breathed a sigh of relief. Thank god Yong went and got her. While she had no concerns of Hugo getting cold feet, he needed to calm down before he descended into an anxiety attack. Nuru slipped past Donella, taking Yong down the hall. They could go see if anyone needed help before the ceremony. 

Hugo froze in place, surprised to see her. “You actually came.”

Donella raised an eyebrow. “Of course I did, you asked me to be here.” 

“Heard you were freaking out,” Donella said.

Hugo puffed his cheeks in protest. “Was not.” 

“Hugo, you’ve never been able to lie to me. Come on.” 

Hugo sighed, his bangs ruffling with his breath. He walked to the window overlooking the castle garden. “Ok. I’m a bit nervous.” Donella said nothing, a silent encouragement to continue. “This is my first stable relationship, the first stable household… What if I mess it up? What if I’m back out on the streets again? Do I even deserve this?” He chewed his lip. It’d been brewing in his mind for a while, hidden in the back where he’d ignored it for so long. But today it would be official, the castle would be his home and Varian would be his forever. It was amazing and terrifying all at once. 

“That’s a stupid question.” Donella folded her arms. 

“Pardon?”

She rolled her eyes, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Of  _ course _ you deserve this, Hugo. You worked your ass off to get here, I would know. The question shouldn’t be if you deserve it, the question should be if you  _ want  _ it.”

Hugo blinked, mouth closing with an audible  _ snap. _ “I want this more than anything in the world,” He finally said. “I love him. I want to spend the rest of my life with him.” 

“Well there you go. That’s all that matters. The rest is irrelevant.” 

A smile eased its way onto Hugo’s face. “Thanks, Don. I’m glad you’re here.” She hummed, patting his cheek. Then, to his shock, she wrapped the taller man into a brief hug. He wrapped his arms around her, revelling in the affection for a moment. They parted, and Hugo glanced to the door. A mop of black hair was barely visible. 

“You can come in, babe,” He said, and Varian giggled from behind the frame. He rushed into the room and replaced Donella in hugging his fiance. 

“I’m surprised Eugene let you come see me,” Hugo mused.

“He didn’t.” 

“God I love you.”

Varian laughed, burying his head into Hugo’s chest. They separated, eyeing each other up and down. “You look beautiful,” Hugo murmured, and Varian’s cheeks lit up in flames, but his smile remained vibrant all the same. He placed a chaste kiss on Hugo’s lips. 

“So do you,” he replied. If it were up to them, the wedding could’ve been cancelled and they wouldn’t care. Just being in each other's arms right here was enough. 

The trance was broken by Donella clearing her throat. “Don’t mean to be rude, but the ceremony starts in 10 minutes, so  _ move your butts. _ ” 

The couple raced through the castle halls, passing confused guards and amused maids as they went. 

“Why are we always late to things like this?” Varian moaned, narrowly dodging a pedestal as they rounded a corner. 

“We’re not late, everyone else is early,” Hugo joked and winked at Varian. He wasn’t looking, and rammed straight into the doors to the throne room. 

“Shit!” He cried, rubbing his nose. Varian stifled a laugh by his side. He pulled Hugo back, taking the taller one’s face in his hands. “You good?”

“Yea, peachy,” Hugo grumbled, voice nasally. “We should’ve had an outdoor wedding.”

While Hugo and Varian would’ve been completely happy with a simple garden ceremony out in Old Corona, or hell, even just eloping (well Hugo would’ve been fine with that. Varian not so much), you don’t question it when the Queen offers the castle for your wedding. Since Varian and Hugo were busy with their Library and Royal Engineer work, Rapunzel had gladly taken over wedding planning for them. 

It wasn’t nearly as grand or politically important as her royal wedding, but with Varian’s “kind of a prince in 2 kingdoms” status it was still a big ceremony. There were no delegates from other kingdoms to entertain, just a lot of Coronan citizens who wanted to wish the Royal Engineer the best. 

A small part of him mourned the loss of a private ceremony, but Hugo couldn’t deny this was what he’d dreamed of. To be well off, off the streets and comfortable, younger Hugo would’ve loved this. Current Hugo loved it too, but for an entirely different reason. And that reason was standing by his side, waiting for their cue. 

-

Hugo stuck his tongue out in concentration. This solution was very delicate, it needed exactly four drops of carbonic acid in order to work. “Careful…” he muttered to himself. 

One drop.

Two drops.

Three-

He dropped the pipet in shock as the door slammed open and Varian tumbled inside. The beaker fell to the floor, sizzling and bubbling in protest. 

Varian shut the door behind him, bolting the padlock, then the chain lock, and then the door stop. He glanced around wildly, grabbing a nearby stool and propping it under the doorknob before backing away slowly. Hugo rose from his seat, experiment forgotten. “Whoa, hey goggles, where’s the fire?”

“ _ Shh _ !” Varian snapped, backing up further until his back was at Hugo’s stomach. “We can’t let them know we’re in here.” His voice was urgent and laced with anxiety. It made Hugo’s throat close. Were they in danger? Had a prisoner escaped? He and Varian made a lot of enemies in their lives, there was no telling what was going on. 

On the other side of the door, Hugo heard faint footsteps. It sounded like two or three people. Their words were muffled by the heavy wood, but he could hear the harsh tones and false sweetness even so. The door handle jiggled for a moment, and they both tensed up. 

The rattling stopped and the footsteps retreated. Varian heaved a sigh of relief. 

“Ok what the hell was that?” 

Varian turned around, and instead of a terrified, anxious look, Varian’s face was flushed with embarrassment. He twiddled his thumbs. “So you know how you weren’t sure who you wanted to walk you down the aisle?”

“Yea, we decided to walk down the aisle together.” Hugo raised an eyebrow. “Why…?”

“Well, I didn’t mention that last part…” Varian chuckled nervously. “Aaaand now my family is fighting over who gets to walk you down the aisle.”

All tension exited the room with a nearly audible  _ woosh. _ “What.” Hugo said. 

“Not like, physically fighting, but you know how they get.” Varian refused to meet Hugo’s eyes. 

He did indeed know how they got. Competitive niceness was a  _ nightmare _ when Hugo first moved into the castle. All of Varian’s family wanted to get on his good side as soon as possible, and made it their mission to become his best friend. He couldn’t step out of his room without  _ someone _ waiting for him with a gift or activity or god knows what. It was torture. 

He groaned. Either he had to put up with it again for like a week, or one of them had to break the news to everyone. Neither option was particularly fun. 

Or…

“Wanna sneak out and live with your dad for a week?” Hugo asked, letting his trademark smirk slide onto his face. Varian responded with one of his own.

“Sounds great.”

-

One by one, the members of their party joined them, taking their places in line. Nuru and Yong stood side by side, puffing their chests proudly, thrilled to lead the entourage. Eugene rolled his eyes when he arrived, clearly not thrilled at being ditched earlier, but Varian couldn’t care less. It was his wedding damnit, he wanted to see Hugo! He stuck his tongue out at his big brother but otherwise remained in place. He could feel Hugo vibrating with laughter. 

“What?” Varian laughed, gazing up at his soon-to-be husband. 

“Nothing, you’re just really cute.”

“You’re one to talk!” 

Hugo placed a kiss on the crown of Varian’s head, moving down his cheeks, then his nose, kissing each and every freckle. Varian tried desperately to keep his giggles down, but failed miserably, only stopping when someone cleared their throat. Hugo’s head shot up to see a bemused Quirin. 

“Hi dad,” Varian separated from Hugo to wrap around his father, who happily returned the hug. His eyes shone with unshed tears. 

“I’m so proud of you, son,” He whispered. “Your mother would be, too.” He glanced up at Hugo, holding a hand out for him to take, and Hugo did. The father squeezed it. 

Hugo was terrified when he first met Quirin, and in some ways, he still was. The man was massive, all muscle from years of knighthood and farming. But the longer he knew Quirin, the less worried he was. It was clear he loved Varian just as much as Hugo did, if not more. And that was saying something. If someone so much as looked at Varian the wrong way Quirin would not hesitate to kill them in seven different ways, and Hugo would gladly add an eighth. 

  
  


After a few more moments, the trio separated and resumed their positions. The man stepped back in front of them, joining with Donella, representing the parents of the grooms. The echo of a church organ began to blare. 

It was time. 

The doors opened to reveal the throne room, normally decorated with purple and gold now a sea of blue and green. Lavender lined the floor of the aisle, a reminder of Corona where they planned to spend their lives. The late morning sun trickled through the high windows, washing everything in a white light. 

Most people would be unbearably nervous in their position, about to walk down the aisle to get married in front of everyone in the kingdom, but just being together eased all worries and anxieties. It’s how they worked. 

“You know,” Hugo mused, watching as their friends and family started the procession. “I’m kind of shocked this is going so smooth.”

“Please don’t jinx it.”

“Oh come on, you know it’d be more interesting if something went wrong!” they kept their voices to whispers. It was almost their turn. 

“We had enough disaster at the rehearsal dinner.” Varian said, his voice harsh but a grin slowly formed on his face. 

“I was totally innocent!” Hugo raised one arm up in defense, the other looped around Varian’s.

-

The rehearsal itself went off without a hitch, but dinner was where it all fell apart.

The dinner was adults only, Yong, Kiera, and Catalina had been carted off to bed about an hour ago, much to their complaints. Dinner itself went pretty smoothly, drinking and congratulations all around. Varian felt slightly overwhelmed at all the attention.

They both hated these kinds of events. But as part of the royal family, it was a necessary evil, and so they tackled it like they tackled a science problem: divide the work based on their strengths. Hugo was a people pleaser, he knew what to say to get someone off his back. Varian knew the protocol and customs, so he led them in dances and at formal dinners. Now that the meal was wrapping up, Hugo gladly soaked up all the well-wishes so Varian could relax. 

Hugo snickered at something Lance said, downing a glass of champagne and reaching for another, but Varian smacked his hand away. We don’t need a scene tonight, thank you very much. 

The shorter alchemist zoned out slightly, only to snap out of it when he caught sight of Catalina at the entrance. Her hair was askew and eyes wild. She looked like she had run here from her room. She whipped her head around, searching for something, settling on Varian and running up to him.

“Catalina? What are you doing here?” 

She grabbed his hand and pulled him out to the center of the room. “We need to get out of here!” She cried. Her commotion attracted the attention of a few people, and Lance ran over to help. 

“Why?” Varian asked. The girl opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a loud  _ bang! _

The doors were blown wide open, revealing a ragged group of familiar terrorists. 

“Well, isn’t this a lovely party,” Andrew crooned, Yong squirming in his grasp. Cries of distress and fear rang out throughout the ballroom. 

Varian cursed himself for not keeping weapons on him at all times. 

His mind raced, trying to come up with a plan. Hugo loudly clinked a fork to his champagne glass, cutting off the alchemist’s thoughts. “Listen up Saporian sluts, a 10 is speaking!” 

Varian’s face turned bright red and he slid a hand down his face, wanting nothing more than to melt into the floor beneath him. How had Hugo managed to get drunk in the 2 minutes he wasn’t looking?

“I appreciate you coming to congratulate us, really! You used to know Varian, it’s only fair.” He called. “Not sure why you decided to come here though.”

“...What?” Andrew asked, lowering Yong in confusion. The teen took advantage of his distraction, biting into the flesh of Andrew’s hand. The man let him go with a violent curse, and he ran to Varian’s side.

“I don’t get why you decided to come and try the hostage tactic when like, half the royal guard is in this room. You could’ve escaped the castle? Ruined our wedding? You know, like a  _ competent _ villain?” As he spoke, the guards surrounding the room shook themselves out of their shock to ready their weapons at the Saporians. Andrew’s face was ashen, mixed between furious and nauseous. 

“Man, no wonder you couldn’t do anything without Varian. Too bad he’s mine now. Suck it!” Hugo cackled, downing the rest of his champagne in one go. 

Ah. That was how he got drunk. 

-

The first step was the scariest. Once they stepped into the room, they were officially going through with it. There would be no take backs, they had to keep going until they reached the altar. Hugo squeezed Varian’s arm in support, a silent encouragement, a push to start moving. 

The first step, they took it together.

The light from the window rested on Varian’s head, bathing him in a near ethereal light that Hugo couldn’t look away from. He should look where he was going, but he just couldn’t stop staring at the man about to be his husband. 

His  _ husband. _ It felt so surreal. It took every ounce of willpower to not lift Varian up and race down the rest of the way and get married as soon as possible. 

After what felt like an eternity, they reached the end of the aisle. The priest smiled kindly at both of them, and they reluctantly separated to turn and face one another. 

“Greetings, all,” He said. “We are gathered here today to witness the union of Varian, Duke of Corona and the Dark Kingdom, and Baron Hugo of Corona.” Eugene gave Hugo that title. They were 90% sure he did it just to piss Hugo off. 

The man continued to speak, giving the usual rites of marriage and talking about how special today was, but Varian tuned him out pretty early on. He rubbed his thumb over Hugo’s palm, marvelling at the texture. 

Varian kept his gaze ahead and head up, but honestly? His knees were about to collapse at any moment. He was overwhelmed, love filling every crevice of his body all the way to the tips of his fingers and the crown of his head. 

A decade ago, he thought he was unworthy of love. That everyone who loved him left him, betrayed him, abandoned him. But now, seeing his dad trying not to cry off to the side, Rapunzel bouncing in place next to a calmer but equally happy Eugene, and Nuru and Yong grinning eagerly at him, he can’t help but wonder how he ever thought such a thing.

He only snapped out of his musings when the priest nudged him. “Your vows?” He said. 

Varian cleared his throat, and gazed up at Hugo. Blue eyes met green, a perfect sea. 

“Hugo, we both know I am… not great with words,” He began. Hugo snickered at the understatement. 

“But even so, there are no words that could possibly describe how much I  _ love  _ you. You make everything we do fun. Even if it’s a boring ball, or if we’re running for our lives, or, heck, even just hanging out in our room, you make it fun. Just being with you, I feel like I can do anything,  _ we  _ can do anything. You always know what I need, you always know how to cheer me up, I would be lost without you. In more ways than one. 

“Neither of us have had a… great past. We’ve both done some things we regret.” He shifted nervously and scratched the back of his neck. “But you don’t care about the things I’ve done. You care about the here and the now, and I love that about you. You act like you don’t, but you  _ care _ so deeply, and it shows in everything you do.” His voice cracked on the last line, and Varian wiped a stray tear with the palm of his hand. He felt like a dam, about to burst with love. A quick glance saw Hugo was also trying not to cry. 

“I just. I love you. A lot. To the point it may be unhealthy. Honestly I don’t know. But I want to find out with you. I want to do so much with you, and now we have the rest of our lives.” He took a shaky breath, in and out, just like Hugo taught him. “And, uh. Yeah. I’m done.” His cheeks heated up and he laughed awkwardly. 

Hugo let out a wet laugh, his eyes misty. “Shit, goggles, how am I supposed to top that?”

“Easily?” The room broke into polite laughter. 

Hugo took a deep breath, wavering slightly on the exhale. “If I told myself I would be here, in a castle, getting married to nobility, I think past me would’ve tried to kill present me. But honestly what does he know? He hasn’t met Varian yet. And that’s really the crux of it, isn’t it?” He squeezed Varian’s hands, bringing them to his chest. 

“You changed me for the better in... so many ways. When I first met you, I thought it was just going to be another mission, another double-cross. But the more I got to know Nuru and Yong and  _ you,  _ the more I realized how much more there was than just stealing and alchemy. I riled you up because I loved the fire in your eyes, and even now, it’s one of my favorite things about you.” Varian whimpered ever so slightly, embarrassed but also so,  _ so  _ in love with the man in front of him.

“You never back down, you never give up, even when the odds are stacked against you. You’re capable, and strong, and  _ kind.  _ You’re a champion of second chances, and you see the best in everyone. So sure, past me might hate current me, but you know what I’d tell him? I’d tell him you can hate me all you want, but you will  _ love _ the man you’re marrying. And you’ll agree that he’s worth it.” He smiled down at his soon to be husband. “I love you, so, so much, Varian.” He finished, and Varian couldn’t stop a single sob that escaped his lips. Hugo lowered their hands, but not before pressing a kiss to both of Varian’s.

The priest took the ensuing silence as an invitation to continue. 

“Varian, do you take Hugo to be your husband? Do you promise to be faithful to him in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love him and to honor him all the days of your life, till death do you part?”

“I do,” Varian breathed, a rush of air escaping his lungs. 

“And do you Hugo, take Varian to be your husband? Do you promise to be faithful to him in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love him and to honor him all the days of your life, till death do you part?”

Hugo nodded vehemently. “Yeah, I do.” Distantly he could hear someone blow into a tissue; his money was on Cyrus. 

“The rings?” the priest asked, and Yong stepped forward. On one shoulder was Ruddiger, groomed and adorned in a little bow tie. Olivia sat on the other, letting out happy clicks and whirs, a burst of steam escaping. The teen lowered so the animals could take the rings from him and bring it up to them. 

Ruddiger chittered at Varian as he passed him the ring, and got a scratch under his chin for it. The exchange of rings was silent, if it were up to them, this would’ve been done in private. Varian kept his hands covered so often due to his work, but he suspected he’ll forgo safety just to stare at the ring in the future. 

“I now pronounce you husbands. Congratulations, and may your lives together be long and peaceful.” The priest said, and stepped back. 

It was all the invitation Varian needed. He grabbed Hugo’s face and pulled him into a passionate kiss. The taller man faltered for a second, before eagerly kissing back, and he wrapped his arms around Varian’s waist. They parted to the cheers of friends and family. 

Hugo rested his forehead on Varian’s, finally letting the tears leak out onto his cheeks. “I love you, hummingbird,” He whispered. 

Varian hummed. “I love you too, Hugh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> should I mark this fic as completed and just add chapters as I go? idk   
> In this house we love momella


	9. Teeny Tiny Problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An incident in town leads to Nuru and Yong taking care of some wild toddlers. Toddlers who are not exactly unfamiliar...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: none.   
> Uhhh this is a very very old piece (i wanna say from july?) That i never posted. It was supposed to be a collab but then the person in question stopped liking tts so it was sitting in my drafts till i rushed the ending just now. it sucks but whatever. it exists!

In theory, it should’ve been a simple pitstop. Just a supply run, grabbing some medicinal herbs they were short on. One day in town, before moving on to the next trial. But with this lot, it was never that simple. 

The apothecary they entered was small, but not unpleasantly so. Shelves were crammed with herbs, trinkets, and various potions. The old woman manning the shop seemed pleasant enough, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. 

The trouble started when Varian and Hugo fought. 

“Oh come on, goggles! She’s clearly scamming us, the last place sold these herbs for half the price!” Hugo threw his hands up in exasperation, anger flashing in his eyes.

Varian grit his teeth. “That  _ half _ was because you stole them! Which, may I remind you, got us kicked out of town? We had to camp in the  _ rain! _ ”

“I was so looking forward to sleeping in a real bed…” Nuru sighed. 

“Why are you even so worked up over this? We have the money, it’s not like we’re gonna go broke!”

Hugo narrowed his eyes. “Unlike some  _ Royal Engineers _ , I had to grow up watching every penny. Forgive me if I want to keep us afloat!” He stomped his foot, and the potions on the shelf by him wobbled. Varian’s expression went from annoyed to  _ I will kill you if you say one more word. _

The old woman raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. It was fascinating, how these two seemed to harbor such ill will, and yet, there were subtle signs that neither of them truly wanted this fight. From the hesitation to make sudden movements, to the faint blush that colored the smaller’s cheeks, there was an underlying tension obvious to anyone who looked close enough. 

“We are fine, Hugo, honestly, I don’t see why you insist on stealing from anyone and everyone. Oh! I know! It’s because you don’t  _ care _ . You think the world is your playground and your actions have no consequences.” 

That seemed to be the final straw, and Hugo lunged forward with a feral cry. He pinned Varian to the floor but not without pushing Varian’s back against a shelf, sending a glass beaker tumbling to the ground. They all shattered on impact, coating both of them in a pink liquid.

“That’s  _ enough! _ ” The old shopkeeper cried. Varian and Hugo froze. From the sidelines, Yong winced. Looks like they weren’t getting those herbs after all… and the next town was a good week away. 

“Ma’am, I am so sorry for them… we can pay for the damages, I swear,” Nuru said, reaching out placatingly. The woman held up a hand, stopping the princess. 

“This is all your fault,” Varian whispered harshly from the floor.

“Me? You’re the one who wouldn’t let me help!” Hugo whispered back.

“I’m willing,” The woman called, interrupting them. “To give you the herbs. At  _ full price _ ,” the last part was directed at Hugo, who at least had the dignity to look ashamed. Varian grinned triumphantly. “The potion is punishment enough.”

Varian paled. “What potion?”

“The one you dropped on yourselves.” She smiled. “You’ll see soon enough.” She then turned to Nuru and Yong, who both looked terrified. “Don’t worry dears, it’s harmless. It’ll wear off when they’re ready.” None of them were particularly reassured by that statement. 

-

“It’ll wear off when they’re ready,” Hugo repeated in a high pitched voice. He had finished setting up his tent for the day, and wandered into Varian’s. The latter rolled his eyes at the dramatic entrance, but said nothing. “What a load of baloney.”

“That we can agree on,” Varian hummed. “Well, nothing’s happened, so maybe we already are ready?” 

Hugo huffed. “I bet she was just trying to scare us.” 

“Maybe.” 

“Why are we camping instead of travelling, then?”

Varian groaned. “Nuru doesn’t want to take any chances, so we’re stuck here for the next 24 hours, in case we get  _ punished _ by that potion.” He waggled his fingers ominously.

“Seriously? What’s the worst that can happen?”

Nuru hummed as she set up her own tent, her mind a violent storm compared to the calm she exuded. What did the woman mean by ready? Were her friends in serious danger? The woman seemed relatively calm about the whole ordeal, scarily so. She grew up in court, she knew not to trust that kind of exterior. Smile through the pain, that’s what she was taught. Either that woman was just messing with them, or the potion had done something seriously messed up and it was a ticking time bomb.

Her musings were cut off by a high-pitched scream. Her back went ramrod straight. “Yong!?” She cried, turning towards the commotion. The noises were that of a child, so it had to be Yong. They were coming from Varian’s tent. The princess nearly tripped over her feet as she raced to the entrance and threw open the flap. 

“Yong, are you okay? What was that-” the words died in her throat. She couldn’t do anything but stare. 

“Nuru, you called me?” Yong poked his head in to see what the commotion was all about. “Oh.” 

Varian and Hugo were wrestling on the floor, with Varian sitting on top of Hugo and yelling as he pummeled him with his fists. Only, it wasn’t Varian and Hugo. Or at least, it wasn’t the Varian and Hugo Nuru knew and adored. 

They were tiny, even shorter than Yong. Children, with baby fat and button noses. Hugo had to be no older than 6, and Varian was likely 5. Their clothes had shrunk alongside them a bit, but not nearly enough; Hugo’s shirt was more of a dress and Varian’s pants scrapped along the floor. Ruddiger was cowering in the corner, tail puffed up, though he seemed to relax considerably at seeing Nuru and Yong. 

“What on Earth is going on?” Nuru managed to ask.

“He called my raccoon trash!” Varian yelled, not stopping his tiny fury. Hugo screeched like a siren as he was hit with baby fists. 

“NURU!” Child Hugo wailed, desperately trying to wiggle free. “Nuru make him stop!” 

She gaped, unable to move or breathe or think. Seeing as he was on his own, Hugo managed to grab one of Varian’s arms and, with great gusto, licked it from palm to elbow. Varian yelled like he was on fire. 

That final yell snapped Nuru out of her shocked trance. “Ok, that’s enough!” She grabbed Varian off of Hugo, grunting as the child in her arms squirmed. He was like a fish on dry land, desperately trying to slip out of her grasp. Yong grabbed Hugo before he could do any more harm.

“I HATE YOU!” Varian screamed, feet kicking wildly.

“I HATE YOU MORE!” Yelled Hugo.

“Would you two cut it out?” Nuru pulled Varian further away. 

Varian let out a few more kicks, before he seemed to realize it wasn’t doing anything. He hung limply in Nuru’s arms. Satisfied that he was calm, Nuru let him drop to the floor. Yong did the same to Hugo. 

“Are we calmer?” Nuru asked, and both boys nodded. “Ok. What happened? With your words, not your fists.” 

“He called my raccoon trash!” Varian wailed, eyes misting up. His too big teeth gave him a slight lisp.

Hugo scoffed. “He’s a raccoon! He  _ eats _ trash!” 

“I’ll make you eat trash!” At that, Varian pounced, and the wrestling began anew.

“ _ Boys. _ ” Nuru pinched the bridge of her nose. 

Obviously, this was the effect of the potion. Punishment enough, the woman said. Well, it was more a punishment for her and Yong, who now had to take care of the little monsters. They could barely get along when they were adults, but now they were toddlers! 

“Yong,” she said. “You have siblings, right? How did you deal with your younger siblings?” 

“I didn’t,” Yong said. “We fought to the death, the winner is right.” 

“Somehow I’m not surprised.” She sighed. 

-

The tent flap opened and Yong stumbled in. His bones ached in protest from a day of excitement. From the initial incident to wrangling two tiny children, to running back into town, he was exhausted. Nuru looked no better. 

“I went into town, the shop was locked up already. Guess she turned in early to clean up the mess?” Shoulders slumping in defeat, he plopped down next to Nuru. “Where are Varian and Hugo?”

The princess’s attention drifted to the book at her side. “Asleep in the other tent. I’ve been flipping through Ulla’s journal.”

“And…?”

“Nothing.” The book slammed shut with a thud. It was the only sound for a few minutes, save for the cricket song outside. 

“Nuru…” A sigh escaped his lips. “What are we gonna do?”

Nuru frowned. She rose up from her seat, and headed over to the tent’s exit. The question had been spinning in her head all afternoon. What if Varian and Hugo never got back to normal? The former could go back to his dad, sure, but he’d never complete his quest, and how do you explain to someone their kid lost 14 years of their life? And Hugo… he was very secretive about his past, but he made it clear he had nowhere to go. He went wherever he wanted, wherever he could find work and welcome. The current Hugo had none of the experience of his former self. To throw him back onto the streets he grew up… No, Nuru wouldn’t even entertain the thought. 

Finally, she said, “I don’t know. I wish we had Varian right now.”

-

In the other tent, Varian tossed and turned.

Hugo groaned, unable to sleep due to the noise. The kid next to him whimpered, and Hugo sat up. 

“Why can’t you just go to bed…” He trailed off when he realized Varian  _ was _ asleep. 

The black-haired kid’s eyes were screwed shut. He cried out, a single tear slipping down his cheek. Limbs flailed haphazardly, and Hugo had to move to avoid getting kicked. He’d seen it enough times in the orphanage to know this was a particularly nasty nightmare. Something in his gut, a powerful feeling, felt for Varian. He never felt very sympathetic to the other kids in the orphanage, but instead of being annoyed, Hugo felt… worried? 

“Varian…” He whispered. “Varian!” He shook Varian ever so slightly. “Wake up, Varian!”

_ “DAD!”  _ Varian shot up, now wide awake. He heaved for each breath. A hiccup interrupted his breathing, then another, and soon the hiccups turned into sobs.

Each cry tugged at Hugo’s heart. Every part of his body screamed  _ Help him, he shouldn’t cry, he’s too pretty to cry. _

“Hey… are you ok?” Hugo asked. He wasn’t sure how to help, but he figured he might as well try. 

Varian shook his head mutely. He wiped the tears from his eyes. “I’m just sad. I miss my daddy.”

Hugo frowned. “I don’t miss anyone,” He muttered. No person, at least. Though he did kind of miss…

It hit him. “Wait here!” He cried. 

Hugo stood up and toddled over to the backpack Nuru claimed was his. He rifled through its contents as Varian sat patiently. If Nuru was right, he never kept her very far…

Sure enough, Olivia scampered out from his sack and up onto his shoulder. He giggled as her mechanical squeaks filled his ears. 

Triumphant, he sat down next to Varian again. “Do you wanna hold her? She always makes me feel better when I’m sad.”

Varian held out his hand. “...Ok.” The little robot mouse skittered up his arm, and the boy couldn’t help but giggle. For a moment, the only sounds came from the  _ clink _ of her gears. Hugo’s cheeks turned red the longer he stared. 

_ Pretty _ , he thought. 

“I’m… I’m sorry about earlier,” Hugo muttered. “Your raccoon’s not trash. Please don’t cry anymore.” The last of Varian’s tears dripped onto the sleeping bag.

“Ok, I forgive you.” Varian grinned back toothily. 

“Really!?”

“Yeah! You’re like. My best friend, aside from him.” Hugo’s face lit up at that. 

“Wow…” He said. “I’ve never had a friend beside Olivia.”

Varian blushed. “I never had a friend ‘cept Ruddy.” 

For a moment, their eyes met. Varian turned away first, his cheeks heating up the same red as Hugo’s. 

-

When Nuru came to get them in the morning, she nearly burst into laughter. Yong wasn’t so strong, and broke into giggles. 

Both Varian and Hugo, back to normal, slept on unaware. Hugo had sprawled out in his sleep, half on top of the shorter, near crushing him to death. Varian drooled into his pillow, that being Hugo’s collarbone. Soft whistles left his mouth as he remained dead to the world. Their legs were tangled together, strong as tree roots, keeping them close. 

Yong’s laughter, high and sweet, was what woke them up. Eyelashes fluttered as both men (men, not children) reentered the world for the first time in about 12 hours. Blue eyes met green, a mix of teal, the first, but certainly not the last, time it was created. They took in their positions, how close they were, noses almost touching.

Their screams sent birds scrambling from the trees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm listing this as complete just in case i never come back but i might! i missed writing these boys, im kinda in a baby burnout so we shall see.

**Author's Note:**

> Updates when I feel like it, which uh. will be often probably.


End file.
